


The Price of Life

by PocketWhirlwind



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AU, Blind!Dilan AU, Hurt/Comfort, Not really sure where this is going but hopefully somewhere, Other tags to be added, a little bit of world building, mentions of xalxig, slowly going into headcanon and OC territory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 14:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 43,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9388805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PocketWhirlwind/pseuds/PocketWhirlwind
Summary: Life doesn't come cheap and after being revived twice, there is a hefty price to pay. Dilan and the other apprentices wake up to learn of what they had to pay to be reawaken once more. In Dilan’s case, his sight. The others seem to be back on their feet just fine, or so he thinks.AU after the events of KH2 and KH3.





	1. Learning to Adapt

At first they thought it was temporary. “Maybe tomorrow…” or “Maybe the day after that.” There wasn't anything in their voices that made him suspect. They all were just getting used to their bodies again. 

Maybe it should have been a discomfort, but Dilan found it peaceful within his own world. He only had to worry about his own thoughts, left alone to contemplate how and why this could have happened. But most importantly, evaluate what he was feeling.

These feelings that kept coming back and pushing through was the worst of it all. He hated it. Of all the things to gain and to lose, he could have gone without these emotions. A sneer curled on his lips as he realized that the throbbing in his chest was caused by the Heart he now had. His own Heart at that. It felt and remembered things, putting valid emotions behind memories of the last decade. He hated this.

The loss of his sight was nothing in comparison.

They had woken up, as he was told, on the floor of the computer room. And if his memory was right, very close to where they had originally lost their hearts. The shock of black while awake made him uneasy. He had knelt on the floor until Aeleus came to check on him. It was then they realized his condition. Ienzo and Even agreed to check over him once they found the lab but until then he sat with his back against the computer module and waited.

And waited.

And waited. 

There wasn't anything else he could do. He didn't dare move from the spot, unsure of where anything or anyone was. For all he knew there was debris everywhere and he could trip over something. Nothing but solid blackness greeted him. 

Finally some time later, Aeleus helped him up a set of stairs and to the lab they managed to put together. Ienzo and Even managed a couple of simple tests but they couldn't tell if it was temporary or not. But Dilan could feel the tension in the air, they weren't telling him something.

*

Days went by and nothing changed. The same darkness was there when he opened his eyes as when he closed them. Dilan was starting to come to terms with it after the fourth day. He was never going to see again.

The thought should have bothered him more. Should have gotten more of a reaction out of him but years of being emotionless made him stagnant. He assumed on some level it would hit him later, much like how the decades worth of memories with emotions plagued him at night. The true shock of loss would come to him later. For now, Dilan only wanted to focus on getting through these nights of hardly any sleep.

The dreams were of shapes and figures he couldn't clearly make out. But he knew what was happening. The destruction of life, the exploration of a new world, the bitterness of seeing another couple… it all made their way to him in these strange dreams. There were nights he woke up gasping for air, ripping the thin sheets off of him as if they burned him, and shivering with night terrors. Someone would gently push him back down and cover him back up again, he assumed was one of the others already awake by similar means or he had woken them up by his own thrashing. Either way, he laid back down and remained awake for the rest of the night if he didn't drift off into a dreamless sleep. 

Dilan could only assume that they all were going through something similar. However it didn't seem the other three were as impaired like him.

*

“All I'm saying is, it is strange how Dilan is the only one missing something vital.” Ienzo sounded confused and… older. Dilan couldn’t help but frown at his statement and thought. He had known the boy to have grown while they had been without Hearts, but he had assumed that they would return to the age they had lost them. 

“That doesn't explain anything,” Aeleus said carefully. “How can he be the only one to come back as such?”

They had gone over it dozens of times. How they all died, what is it that made Xaldin’s demise much different from their own? And would it cause something as the loss of Dilan’s sight? 

Dilan shifted, carefully placing his hands around the mug that had been set next to his left hand. “I suppose the real question is, are the rest of you missing anything? The only probable explanation is that strange voice we heard did something.”

“It did say ‘for a price’ but never specified...” Dilan could imagine Ienzo placing a hand under his chin as he spoke, trying to think of the connections.

There was silence as they all were lost in thought. 

Aeleus was the first to speak. “It have noticed,” he began slowly. “The earth does not answer my call.”

“... what do you mean?” Dilan asked already having an idea of the answer. He could guess the man was leaning on the table with both arms judging by how the table teetered in his direction and with a deep frown on his face.

Aeleus took a breath, looking for the proper words. “I cannot move the ground as I used to. The… magic is no more. If there was a price I had to pay to return to this life, it was that of my powers.”

Dilan nodded. A guard without sight and a guard without strength. Truly a poor pair they were now.

Even scoffed from the other side of the table. Dilan turned his head towards the sound of his voice. “Why would that be as cumbersome as Dilan’s predicament? It doesn't seem as if they are related.”

“And you have?” Dilan could practically hear Ienzo raising his eyebrow as he questioned the blond. 

“Perhaps. If you count the loss of all of my research as one. Decades of work GONE!” Even must be gesturing as he spoke, a habit Dilan remembers him having. “The books are there but they are all blank. Not a simple scrap of my notes are still here. Ridiculous!”

“A lot of data gone indeed….” Ienzo half muttered mostly to himself. He sighed before saying, “I suppose I would count the loss of childhood to be mine. I recall nothing before coming here… to live in this castle to clarify. Along with my sped up growth, there is nothing else I can say I lost.”

“The loss of youth? I suppose that would matter to some,” Dilan said as he carefully raised his mug to his lips. He could at least eat and drink without aid. He was thankful for that. But what bothered him most was what Aeleus had said, how he could no longer feel the magic within him. In the hours Dilan had to himself, lost in thought, he could swear he knew where things were. The space of the room felt full to him, as if the air around him was aiding in his lack of sight. A thought he would have to expand on on a different day. “No magic. No research. And no vision…. Strange prices to pay for life....” He set down his cup carefully, frowning when it hit the table too hard.

A grunt from Aeleus. “Our hearts before and now this…. Curious as to why individual prices now rather than a common one.”

There were murmurs of agreement before they all went silent once more.

*

It didn’t take long for them to give in and go into town in search of help. Less than a day actually. They had already suspected that the Restoration Committee would come and check on the place in a matter of time. Ienzo and Aeleus had gone out while Lea tagged along to make the relations easier (or so he thinks). Dilan and Even remained in the castle doing what little they could for the space they had.

It wasn't even an hour before the party returned with extra guests. He could hear their excitement and wariness as they came back into the castle, taking in the opportunity of the past residents allowing them in. Not that it had mattered before. Xaldin was here when they entered the castle and explored the contents of their labs. Dilan remembered. 

Dilan stood against one of the grand staircases as the party entered. The wind that blew in with the opening of the doors brought along the impression of five other bodies with Aeleus and Ienzo. Curiosity creeped into his thoughts. How did he know that? Introductions started as he crossed his arms, trying to pick out more details. Yuffie, smaller than the rest, energetically ran ahead of the group to explore this part of the castle they hadn't managed to get to yet and the wizard Merlin trailed behind her. Leon and Cid remained near the entrance still wary of the newcomers. Aerith was the only one to approach him, her steps light and sure until she got closer. She stopped a respectable distance away and he assumed she was looking up at him. 

There was a soft gasp before she spoke, “Your eyes…” 

He frowned. “Yes?”

He sensed her raising her hand but thought better of it. “You're blind now, aren't you?” her voice was soft but he could hear the worry in it.

Dilan nodded, jaw tight and his fists clenched. 

“Why didn't you say something before?” she had turned back to the others presumably towards Ienzo and Aeleus. “We could have brought something-”

“And what?” Even snapped. “You wouldn't have believed us until you saw it.”

“Even is right,” Ienzo spoke up. “We wished to see if you would have come of your own volition. To say one of us is at a disadvantage would have come with a guilt trip of sorts.”

There was a silence. Dilan could only guess they were looking at him. 

“Regardless,” Leon’s voice drifted from across the room. “There could be something we can do. Merlin might know a spell or-”

“Best not risk it with him.” Cid cut him off. “Magic isn't reliable if you ask me.”

“But-”

“Enough.” Dilan turned his head to where he thought Aerith was standing. “This is just something I'm now living with. Do not concern yourself with my own wellbeing.” 

Aerith considered his words before speaking. “I suppose so…. But do not be afraid to ask for help in the future.” 

Her words held a gravity to them that Dilan was trying to place. Was she actually worried about him? Impossible. They were the ones responsible for the mess of the town. There wasn't any real reason to help them other than simply being nice people. Perhaps it was best that Aeleus and Ienzo hadn't mentioned his condition to them. It would have forced them to give them a kindness rather than seeing how they would naturally react to them. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all.

*

Training continued on with or without a person there. Dilan was determined to make himself useful somehow. His work with his lance improved within days. He felt like he was finally returning to normality. A sign he himself was moving on.

It all changed one day.

Months had gone by and he had gone outside to practice in the covered courtyard, wanting to feel the raw, natural air move around him. Sweat dripped down his neck and back as he finished another set of swipes with his lance. He was doing better. The wind around him calmed to a gentle breeze, still feeding him information as he stood still to even out his breathing. 

Deciding it was enough for the summer day, he headed back inside. The heat might be getting to him as he thought he heard a new voice somewhere else in the castle. Carefully picking his way to the kitchen, Dilan trailed a hand along the wall for support. He knew the way but it was impossible to tell if anything new would just pop up in his path. With his lance resting on his shoulder, Dilan finally made it to the kitchen. He fumbled around the door of the fridge before finding a cold bottle of water and then sat at the small table he knew was in the room.

Within the quiet of the kitchen, Dilan allowed himself to relax. As far as he knew, restoration of the city was moving along well. Since the disappearance of the Heartless and the (supposed) defeat of Xehanort the month before (his heart aching at the thought), the residents were picking up in the remodeling of the place. He would occasionally pick up the sounds of large cranes moving something from within the city. But Dilan had yet to leave the property of the castle, despite his insistence. “Too dangerous” and “too risky” were the popular excuses when he asked even for someone else’s assistance at the expense of his own pride. Apparently too much construction around the city was a hazard to anyone that couldn't move on their own so Dilan was forced to remain in the castle. 

He sighed and took a sip of his water. He couldn't help but wonder when he would be able to do something more other than sit and stare at nothing or train out in the yard. The others mostly spent their days fixing various parts of the castle or city when the Committee called on them, but Dilan was of no help to most of the tasks. He half considered cooking meals for the lot only to have that shut down due to the lack of help he would need navigating the kitchen. Maybe the next time Aerith showed up he would ask her for assistance.

Speaking of the brunette he could hear her voice drifting from down the hall, slowly coming closer. “I suppose the others are out working…. But I'm sure someone is still here. Dilan usually is around- ah there he is!” She apparently spotted him from around the corner. 

“Dilan…” A new voice, someone's he didn't recognize but faintly familiar, also entered. 

Three pairs of footsteps approached one much more hesitant than the others. Three? Perhaps Leon or Cid was with her… but this other person…. They stopped as Dilan turned to greet them. 

“We figured we would find you here,” Leon said, confirming Dilan’s guess. 

“We thought you should know an old friend of yours is here,” Aerith added on probably seeing the confusion on his face. Or she was being courteous and explaining.

Dilan nodded and turned his head towards the third person of their little group. He could only assume this was the person. Whomever it was, no one seemed to want to give him a name. “Who is it?” he asked as he frowned slightly at the mystery of it all.

The person stepped forward, approaching him slowly, also like they were uncertain of what to do now that they were here. “Dilan… what happened?” Shaky, but deep, so a male…. It held a question that he wish he knew what to say for a short answer. Heat drew close to his face, probably a hand, before it stopped and went to rest on his shoulder instead.

Dilan’s frown deepened. The voice was familiar at least. For the four words the person had spoken to him, it was impossible to say he knew the voice. Another hand rested on top of his own and gently pulled his hand to cup a cheek. 

“It's me… Braig.”

The shock made Dilan pull his hand back as if he had been burned. “Impossible…” 

The person in front of him tugged his hand back onto his face. “It is.” Guiding his hand, Dilan could feel the pull of skin where new flesh met scarred tissue, crawling up across half of his face. His fingers traced up a nose to one eye then over to an eye patch that fit over where he knew another small scar was hidden. By now, his left hand had also reached up and cupped the unmarred cheek, his thumb gently stroking the smooth skin. “Braig…. How?”

“We found him wandering outside the castle,” Leon explained. “We figured he was trying to get in but wasn't sure how.” 

“I already told you I knew how to get in…” Braig mumbled. “Just wasn't sure if anyone was home…” Braig’s thumb was tracing lazy circles over Dilan’s hand. A small reassuring touch that this was real and not some hallucination or dream. Gods, if he only knew how many times Dilan thought of this…

Wait. “This-- how are you here?” Dilan asked, a sudden bite in his voice. He had heard the accounts from Lea and Sora. Even the girl Kairi had confirmed it. Xigbar had been defeated. Xehanort destroyed. Braig shouldn't be here right now. “Last I heard, you were dead.”

He started pulling his hands away but stopped when Braig’s grip on his wrist tightened. His frown deepened but he didn’t try to move away again.

“That… That is a very long story…”

“I’m not going anywhere. Not that I’m allowed to,” Dilan said bitterly. His eyes glancing to where he thought Aerith and Leon remained standing. “But if you aren’t in the mood for explaining yourself, then we will find another time.” With a sudden tug, he pulled his hand free and stood up. Addressing the other two, he spoke, “And what brings the two of you to the castle?”

Aerith stepped a little closer and replied, “I figured I would get dinner started for the group of you. Aeleus had mentioned how he wasn’t sure how long it was going to take them in town and-”

“Thank you. I shall help with what I can.” Dilan didn’t want to deal with the emotions he knew were threatening to burst to the surface. He could feel the tension in the room rising as he moved to the counter space next to the stove and started feeling around for bowls and pans. He didn’t even know what the girl had in mind for dinner but he knew he needed to do something other than sit around and wallow in his own thoughts. That was more dangerous than leaving the castle.

He could hear Aerith moving up beside him, gently taking the pot from his hand and setting it on the stove. He was clearly done with the conversation. 

Braig made a sound of protest before Leon stepped in. “I’ll show you the rest of the castle, Braig. Maybe Even is around somewhere.” 

For a moment it didn’t sound like he would go, then a heavy sigh. “Alright. I’ll see you later Dilan.” There was reluctance in his voice as the footsteps retreated from the kitchen.

As soon as they rounded the corner, Dilan felt a hand on his arm. Aerith gently squeezed his forearm and he settled both hands on the counter as he took several deep breaths. He could feel his body shaking, everything in him was telling him to chase after the man who had just walked out. But for more reasons than one he knew he couldn’t. The woman next to him said nothing, making a respectful silence between them as he tried to compose himself. Dilan couldn’t imagine what he must look like at that moment. 

After some time she removed her hand. “Do you need more time?” came her soft question.

Taking another shuddering breath he stood up straight. There would be time for this later. “No… let’s get to work. What were you planning on making?”


	2. Adjustments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to see how the Apprentices are adjusting to their new lives and guests.

“Surely we can't let him stay. He is a threat to us.” The room was silent as they weighed Even’s words. The blond continued after a pause. “He was in cahoots with the man who took our hearts from us the first time which led to all of us nearly being used for some body take-over scheme? No. We cannot allow him to stay.” 

There was another long silence. Dilan sat back on the couch, his arms crossed over his chest as he tried to think of a better solution than simply kicking their ex-coworker out onto the streets. The four of them sat in an extra bedroom they had managed to recover from the mess of the castle. Aeleus’ large form next to him sighed as Ienzo across the room on the bed took in a deep breath. 

“We can't let him stay but we can't send him away either,” Ienzo spoke slowly, his tone cautious. “The Restoration Committee had some proposals for us and the castle they wanted us to consider.” 

Dilan tilted his head while looking in his direction. “What sort of proposals?”

“With the town being reconstructed,” Aeleus began, his voice strong yet hesitant. “The Restoration Committee is considering harboring some of the people here as their homes are being rebuilt.”

“The Inn-”

“The Inn is becoming too crowded,” Ienzo said cutting off Even’s objection. “The Moogle running it can't keep everyone in. With more people starting to come back because of the Keyblade Wielders, we might run the risk overpopulation sooner than we think.”

“The more hands, the more people to help construct,” Dilan mused. “But even we have limited space. Thus bringing us back to if we accept Braig back in or not.”

“Preposterous,” Even stepped into the middle of their small room. “We can't allow random civilians running around here. They could find rooms we could have stored research in. Or worse.”

“We can restrict them,” Aeleus offered. 

“How? We cannot enforce such rules on them. Besides, everyone would want to explore the castle.”

“A barrier spell? Or simply asking.” Ienzo shifted on the bed… or maybe stood up. “The residents are kind enough around here. And we have the space. But if we offer our home to them, we cannot deny Braig a place as well.”

Dilan nodded in agreement. “As terrible as it sounds, Ienzo is right. An agreement to help the citizens would be an acceptance of Braig.” 

“But we still cannot-” Even had started again, but stopped as Dilan continued to speak.

“Yes I agree with not wanting Braig here, however we also can't deny such a request from the Committee. For what we caused to this town, this is the least we can do in return for those who were lost to the Darkness. Aeleus, how long will to take for these he's to be built?”

“Depends. A couple of days or a couple of weeks,” the man next to him rumbled. “Depends on the home. It is possible that we may need to construct all new homes…. We also have to secure the newer areas with security systems that Cid built.”

Dilan nodded. “We are assuming two months at the longest then. And they will be rotated out. Most people will be returning to the town to aid in cleanup as well. A majority won't be in the castle for most days.”

“And for those that do stay,” Ienzo interjected, “will have to work around here. Laundry or cooking for those that live in here. Aerith already agreed to such conditions. She and others of the Restoration Committee will stop by on the occasion. For the peace of mind of the citizens I suspect.”

Dilan hummed his approval, it seemed like a solid deal. The only factor would be how many people they would be required to take and how long for their new homes to be built. He didn't have any doubt in Aeleus and the Committee to get things done. But the factor of Braig worried into the back of his mind. He leaned back against the couch with a sigh through his nose and felt a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder from Aeleus. He nodded his thanks at him.

Even was still trying to argue against the idea but was coming up short again. It looked like they were all going to need to get used to the new company. “Where will they stay?” he argued. 

“We have plenty of extra rooms.” Aeleus removed his hand from Dilan’s shoulder, presumably to gesture to the room they were meeting in. “We've already requested aid in refurbishing some before our guests arrive, should we agree to the terms.” 

Dilan couldn't help the smirk on his face. “Sounds as if you two have already given this much thought.”

“It is a long walk back from town,” Ienzo said simply. 

Even let out an exasperated sigh. “It doesn't appear we have any other choice. But we must _all_ agree on the boundaries of these people.”

The tension in the room eased considerably in that instant. With Even agreeing, Dilan was certain the rest of them had small smirks of victory on their faces. 

*

A week later the castle was alive and teeming with people. Two older women work in the kitchen taking care of meals for the inhabitants, three children play between the main foyer and the gardens while a mother and father (not together) keep them up with their lessons and direct them which weeds to pull it the gardens, asingle man works on cleaning out most of the hallways and dusting where Even and Ienzo saw fit, and at night the five that go into town to help come back. Overall, the setup was rather ideal for the castle. 

There was an easy going aura within the castle walls that kept everyone in a positive mood. There was food on the tables at night and more areas of the castle opened up within the week. Aerith stopped by every other day to make sure everyone was comfortable or to help with cleaning with a new area of the castle. As a part of the arrangement, she didn't speak of what had happened in the castle before but would talk to the guests and confirm how they were doing. Most questions or concerns she was able to answer or she would turn to Dilan for help. He lingered near when she was around knowing she would need help either with reach or answering questions she was unsure with. There were days when she brought someone else from the Committee with her and Dilan would also spend some time with them. He figured if these were the people who were helping them restore the Castle and get them back in touch with the people in town, he might as well be nice to them.

Dilan couldn't help but wish for his eyes again just to _see_ how the castle looked. He was told vague details of what was where and the condition of books. But for the most part he was lead around or supplied assignments for others. He occasionally played a game with the children outside to train himself. To say he didn’t enjoy it would be a lie, the kids were actually helpful in their own little ways. They were creating small training exercises for him while thinking it was a game of hide-and-seek. Otherwise, he spent his days wandering from one set to another within the same walls. 

But the lingering thought in the back of his mind was Braig.

The man would move quietly through the castle, not necessarily with malice or spite, but rather curiosity. Dilan had managed to avoid him for some time since he wouldn't stay in one place for long and Braig would go into town more often than not. They would meet at meals or in passing. It seemed like they were avoiding each other but at dinner time when they sat at the same table, Dilan couldn't help but get the sense that he was being stared at. 

He shook it off, calling it his imagination and ate in respectable silence unless he was asked a question. Once or twice he told stories of what it was like back when the castle was in its marvelous state. He spoke of the tall paintings and well kept curtains that hung in the halls, of the plush carpets on the upper floors, and of the well lit lifts they would eventually reach and check on. He also attempted to describe the gardens, how he would stare at them for hours on end as he and Aeleus stood watching for intruders at the large castle doors. He spoke fondly of the night sky that would shine with countless stars in the sky. The older generation would make small comments and agree with his stories. He could hear the children gasping in awe and a sigh of adoration from some of the teens. 

This truly was a place of dreams in its days.

“Oh… Dilan?” the voice was from the older man who cleaned up mostly around the castle. A few of them sat in the main dining room eating dinner for the night.

“Yes?” 

“You said portraits once before, but I've yet to see any in the hallways.”

“Mr. Nokami is right,” the soft voice of one of their newest visitors piped up. Altha, if Dilan could remember her name right, sat next to him at the table. “It’s strange how the pictures seem to be missing.”

Dilan nodded, oddly interested how no one mentioned this to him yet. “Many things have changed over the years. I would suspect things would move.”

There was a murmur of agreement and the sound of silverware clicking against plates before the next question. This time from one of the older ladies that helped make the meal. “Whatever happened to the man that lived here? I can’t remember his name…. Oh my… Was it Ants?”

“No, no, Maggie,” the other woman spoke. “It was Ansem.”

“That’s right!” Maggie chuckled. “He was a kind man. Came by my shop once, you know. Said he was looking for a charm as a present for his nephew I believe.”

“A charm?” one of the children asked.

“Yes. I make all sorts of charms--” and the topic changed from there.

Dilan nodded as he fell back into his own thoughts again. Master Ansem was indeed a kind man. A king in most of their minds. And the people's yet he never ruled as one. The nephew… now that was a name and face that haunted his dreams. The man had yet to show up, not that Dilan believed he wasn't recompleted, but because he didn't want to be here. His uncle was kind but childless by blood. And so Lord Ansem became fond of taking in those in need. He had taken him in all those years ago and Dilan had repaid him in years of service. Only to go behind his back and conduct experiments without his approval. And look where it landed them.

A gentle pat on his arm pulled him from his thoughts. “Um… Mr. Dilan?” Altha’s quiet voice was only for him. He nodded and she continued. “I… uh… I was hoping to help with cleaning the castle tomorrow. Since Mr. Nokami is leaving in the morning. Perhaps we could find those pictures?”

Such a direct question made him wonder why she was so interested in them. Regardless, he wasn’t going to just deny the help. “That would be nice. Thank you.” An aura of calm washed over him and he could swear he _felt_ her smiling. She patted his arm in thanks and returned to her meal. Strange… yet comforting.

The meal finished shortly after and the children rounded up to be sent to bed. Dishes were gathered and carried to the kitchen to be washed by Altha and another volunteer. Nokami and Dilan moved to a sitting room next to a library to talk about when he would leave as well as thanked for his help around the castle. Thanks to him, the whole eastern floor hallway was opened up and cleaned for others to access. He was planning on tackling one of the rooms that appeared to be a library, but his own home was finally finished and he wanted to get to his own home as soon as he could. Dilan understood and thanked him again. 

As they were wrapping up, the sound of approaching footfalls reached Dilan’s ears. 

“Pardon me,” the newcomer said from the doorway making Dilan go stiff.

“No worries Braig,” Nokami said. The sound of the couch gently shifting as he stood. “I was about to retire to my room. I shall have to prepare to leave tomorrow.” He stepped next to Dilan and gently took his hand in his and squeezed. “Thank you for your hospitality.” And with that he left the room with another farewell to Braig.

Cornered in the living room, Dilan had nowhere else to go. 

“I brought some tea,” Braig said as he set down some cups (more than two Dilan noted) and poured into two of them.

Braig moved to sit opposite to him around the coffee table, warm mugs of tea cooling between them. Surely this was when the silence between them would break. And he wasn't wrong. The tension in the air made Dilan’s skin prickle knowing how he was staring at him. He couldn't tell what exactly Braig was thinking, but judging by the amount of time that he took in a deep breath before exhaling, he was trying to think of how to start the conversation. 

Might as well get it over with.

“You should just spit it out,” Dilan said. He did his best from frowning, trying to keep his face as neutral as he could. He wished he had something in his hands to keep them occupied right about now. “Say whatever it is you want and get it off your chest.”

Braig sucked in a deep breath through his teeth. He held it and then sighed it out. “Okay… first of all, how are you?”

Dilan grunted. “I’ve been better.” 

“Right…” Another deep sigh. “Right.” A silence fell between them once more. For once, Dilan was starting to get annoyed with the silence from the other. Just as he had that thought Braig spoke up, “What exactly do you remember?”

It was a rather unexpected question. “Plenty,” he stated slowly. “Meetings that discussed what to do with missing members. Or what Worlds to explore. Several lectures about how they shouldn't have feelings, how they shouldn't exist.” Dilan leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “But I don't remember anything about being used as vessels.”

He could imagine Braig flinching at his words. “That's not-”

“I can also remember nights spent in different worlds. New places to explore and seeing how far the Darkness had reached. There were times where it was questionable as to what they were doing. I remember Xaldin trying to rip apart the relationship of two would-be lovers, to which I've learned everything has turned out for the better for them.” He paused and took a shallow breath. “There are memories that prove of the existence of emotions in him. Memories of two beings who shouldn't have connections and emotions but did.” A pause. “Unless it was all a lie from the start.”

“... so you remember it all.” There was a tired sigh from Braig. The armchair creaked as he shifted in it. “Then maybe you can help,” he added in a hopeful tone. 

Dilan was probably visibly frowning at his words by this point, but he remained silent.

“I… I don't have any memories of Xigbar and Xaldin together. Or at least none of them alone.” A pause as he shifted again. “Along with Xehanort’s Heart fragment being ripped from me… it looks like a part of my memory is gone too. The more… intimate ones at least.”

It felt like cold water was being poured down his back. Dilan wondered what he was staring at blankly and if the shock was evident on his face. His hands clasped together between his knees in a small attempt to keep them from shaking. He swallowed heavily before asking, “And how do you know there is more than what you remember?”

“I can feel it. There is a void. Something about the memories where we're together with others is… different. And several conversations with others ask about our time together alone. I’ve tried to find any sliver of memory with the two of them but I’m coming up empty. So I figured they must have been important if I can't recall them...” Braig trailed off and Dilan wondered if it was because he could see the shake in his hands or the cold sweat he had broken out in. Or maybe a look on his own face that he couldn’t control.

In an attempt to stall for time, Dilan took a sip of the tea just in reach. His nerves calmed down a little once the warm mug was in his hand, but he could still feel them on edge. How could he not be? Months (or was it years?) of two beings circling each other carefully and emotionally until the dam broke. The two of them had ended up drowning within the feeling of the other’s body through their sexual encounters. Of course it led to more later on. Xaldin had been cautious, taking steps back before it got too close and only to fail with time and need.

Braig didn’t need to remember such times. It would only set the two of them here and now back. And Dilan wasn’t the type to go back. The only thing left for them was to go on. As he had been telling himself for months now.

“If you’ve forgotten,” he said slowly. “Then it is best to move on.”

“I can’t accept that.”

“You should.”

“But you’re the only one with my missing memories.” Braig’s tone was turning to a desperate plea. “What was so important about our time together that you don’t want to talk about?”

“There’s nothing to explain. Don’t waste your time with such questions.” Dilan set down his cup of now-too-cold tea and leaned back on the couch. He needed to leave the room, but could he really? His legs felt like lead and Braig would surely follow him.

“Why don’t I believe you? You can’t just tell me that a missing chunk of my life is nothing important. What happened to us?” 

Dilan pinched the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut. “There was never an ‘ _us_ ’. _We_ aren’t what you can’t remember.”

“Of course it’s us-”

“No. It’s _Xigbar_ and _Xaldin_ that you don’t remember.” 

“What-”

“I’m not Xaldin. And you’re not Xigbar.” Dilan’s voice dropped quiet and threatening. He spat out the names as if they were poison. “We are separate people. Stop talking as if we are the same.”

“But we are the same. They were us and we are them.”

“No we-”

“Fine. I'll play along. What did Xigbar and Xaldin do?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t tell me that!" The anger in his voice rising. "They must have done something for this to happen. Or I should be asking what happened between them?”

“I told you: not a thing.”

“Then what was so important that I don't remember? That I can't be told what happened? Surely it was something they both-”

“Xaldin and Xigbar have _nothing_ to do with this,” he snapped loudly. “They never should have, and they never will.”

The silence between them was deafening. 

If Dilan didn't know any better, he could swear he heard the sounds of a heart breaking. 

Maybe two hearts. 

Braig was probably staring at him, fists clenched, as he tried to search for something to say. Something to fix this. But how could he when Dilan had all the cards? The truth remained: Dilan would have nothing to do with them. 

“Xaldin… Xaldin was foolish,” he started again. Dilan had no idea where he was looking but hopefully it was somewhere other than Braig’s one good eye. “He gave into emotions that he was _told_ over and over and _over_ again didn't exist. That he didn't believe in. And look what good it did him. Nothing of use. He still died. Now I'm left to pick up what mess he made.” Lifting a hand to his face, he swiped at the space in front of his eyes. “This… this is his fault. I can't _see_ because of him. He did some terrible things and I'm paying for it. I want nothing to do with him.” He was breathing hard in what small attempt that he could to control his anger. 

“It's been months, Braig. Months since I heard about the victory of the Keybladers over Xehanort. Months since I thought for sure you would be dead for good. Nearly a year since I've been awake. I've been trying to move on. To accept what will become of me. Only a couple of weeks since you've come back from the dead. Do you really think I'm just going to go back?” But in spite of it all, he could feel the ache in his chest from knowing that everything he said was hurting Braig as well.

Harsh words for someone who didn't know why Dilan was being so defensive. He didn't   
even know the whole story.

Gods, he knew this was a mistake.

A mistake from the very beginning to allow this to happen. Xaldin’s mistake.

Maybe this really was for the better. They should grow apart. Let the other find his own happiness away from him. Not that it would matter with Braig, he didn't remember any of the quiet nights the other two had spent together. It would be Dilan’s burden to bare. And he accepted it.

The silence stretched on. He waited for Braig to say something. Or was he waiting on him to say something? 

After what felt like an eternity Braig moved. Slowly and with a deep sigh he got up. Dilan could feel the air move around his solid form as he headed to the hallway and yet this all felt like a dream. “I understand. I won't bother you again,” he said quietly. His words heavy as if he was holding himself back from something. 

“Thank you.” It was all he could respond with as the other left the room. As his footsteps faded, Dilan finally broke. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees as he cradled his head in his hands. The sob catching in his throat. His face already wet, when did he start-?

Did it matter? His heart was hammering in his chest and his shuddering breaths didn't feel like they were going to stop for a long time. Everything seemed to narrow to whatever he was able to feel. Hands on his face, the course hair of his sideburns against his palms, feet grounded to the floor, and the hard springs of the cushion beneath him. His own body hardly feeling real as he tried to breathe through the sudden release. Pent up frustration and anger bubbling up to the surface as he struggled with this new reality of his. How could he be left like this? Sight less and powerless to defend himself. His will power strong and determined but he felt so fragile. 

And so he sat. Letting the emotions roll over him as he attempted to calm himself before someone stumbled onto him. Taking shaking breaths, he wiped at his eyes only to feel more tears fall anew.

_Gods, why couldn't he stop?_

It was flooding him and he was drowning. Everything he kept bottled up and in control of was gone. Waves of intense feelings washing over him as he shook. Everything was a mess of thoughts and memories in his head. Months of struggling to find a way to see things again. Years of past memories now embedded with emotions rocketing their way to the surface with a new vigor and intensity he didn’t think was possible. He was angry at himself for letting such trivial things get to him, for letting Xaldin be able to feel something for someone when he knew it was pointless. All those months ago, he could feel the break of his heart when he realized that Xigbar had died in that final battle and when he didn’t think he would ever see Braig again. The weeks of mourning for his best friend when the tears _should_ have flowed but didn’t sprang up on him. And they wouldn’t stop now. 

Footsteps sounded in the hallway, but he couldn't focus enough to tell who it was. Maybe it was Braig coming back to try and clarify his words again. Or it was someone else. 

It wasn't until the heavy footsteps stopped at the entrance of the room did Dilan realize it was Aeleus. The man's halting steps suggested he had spotted something he hadn't expected.

“Dilan…” he breathed not seeming to believe his eyes.

“I'm fine Aeleus,” he said wincing as he heard his voice crack. No he wasn't okay. Nothing about this was fine. But he couldn't figure out why _now_ he was emotionally breaking down. 

A few hesitant footsteps later and Aeleus was sitting next to him on the couch. He placed a hand on his friend's back and made large circles. The two of them sat in silence as Dilan’s tears slowed. There was nothing they could do other than let it simply drain out of their own accord. 

“I was told to come and check on you,” Aeleus said quietly. “Are you okay?”

Dilan nodded and cleared his throat. “Better… I think.” He took another shaky breath and wiped at his eyes. “I’m… sorry you had to see this.”

Aeleus shook his head then thought better of it. “It was something that needed to be done. We all had our moments already. I’m surprised it took you so long.” He was silent for a moment, a comfortable silence. “What did you and Braig talk about?”

Dilan inhaled sharply as he considered the last ten minutes. “He wanted answers to something and I couldn’t help.”

Another comfortable silence as Aeleus took his answer. 

“He doesn't remember, Aeleus.” Dilan’s voice sounded distant even to himself as he explained. “He doesn't remember the bond between Xigbar and Xaldin.”

“...” 

“It was important enough for him to forget. Yet I keep telling him it wasn't.”

“Was it?”

“What?”

“Is it important for him to forget?”

“I…” Was it? The question weighed on him more than he expected. Dilan searched Xaldin’s memories for some sort of sign or reason for this. Other than the covert mission of vessels and impossible feelings the two of them shared, there was nothing. They had shared many nights together, whispers of fears and doubts into pillows, and declarations of sentimental value brought him pause. A warm feeling blossomed in his chest at the memories which slowly turned into an ache. A yearning so strong for what was nearly brought tears to his eyes again. Gods, this was going to be a constant thing now wasn't it? 

And yet with such a strong connection, the two Nobodies knew of the danger. Xaldin himself had worried about what the future held once the fall of Castle Oblivion had occurred. And after these last few months…. Dilan’s heart lurched at the thought of losing Braig again. Knowing he was alive once more was more than enough for him to be content. But his body wanted more. He would do without it. He has and he would. He needed to protect the one important thing in his life again. His Heart.

He wasn't about to let it break again. 

So was it important for Braig to never find out about them? “I don't know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I updated in less than a month. Honestly. Well this is mostly a story to see how much I can make Dilan suffer without physically touching him... yet.
> 
> Anyways, thank you so much to those that have read so far! I'm actually really flattered by the kudos. 
> 
> Just a couple of OCs will show up just to keep the plot(?) moving and next chapter will be the introduction of some headcanons and slight canon divergence from the series. Just a fair warning. As well as I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but hopefully in a month's time again. Thanks again!


	3. Uncovering Old Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diving a bit deeper into the mystery of Radiant Garden, it's time to learn a bit more of their past. But can it link to the future?

The morning came with gust of cold wind signalling the start of autumn. Dilan could feel it in his bones as he, Ienzo, and Altha headed towards the newly opened corridor. Ienzo was giving her strict rules about what to do with any research information they may or may not find. In truth, with all of the castle seeming to have moved around, it was impossible to tell where anything could have ended up. She and Dilan were going to take one section of the new room and Ienzo the other. If either found anything of interest, they would rejoin and compare. 

Dilan walked behind them in silence. His thoughts drifting back to the conversation between him and Braig last night. The man didn’t show up to breakfast but rather skipped off into town early according to one of the kids. Knowing better than the dwell on it, Dilan tried to put it away but he couldn’t help but feel guilty for what he had said. It had been harsh. Of course he would have wanted answers. Dilan would be the only one to have memories or know of what happened behind closed doors. The two Nobodies had been careful to ensure no one knew about their little get-togethers as much as possible. But not all good things could last...

“Dilan, are you listening?”

“Yes Ienzo, I heard you.” He couldn't keep the bored and annoyed tone out of his voice. He heard Altha stifle a giggle next to him surely earning her a look from Ienzo. 

“Good. Then I shouldn't need to repeat myself later on.” The trio stopped in front of the doors and Dilan cringed at the creaking it made while it opened. Ienzo sighed. “There should be windows on the left wall…. We will have some sunlight before lunch at least. Come Altha.” 

The two started off leaving Dilan to trail behind, feeling useless until they found them. Gripping the dusty fabric, Dilan pulled one side as the other two pulled the other and he instantly felt the warmth of sunlight hitting his skin. The air of the room was stale and dusty, the weak smell of rotting wood came to him alongside the musk of old books. They opened up two more windows coughing and sneezing from dust all the while. Ienzo managed to find the latch of the last one that wasn't rusted and pried it open allowing for a small breeze to blow in. 

“What a view…” Altha mumbled. 

“Quite. It was better with the gardens maintained,” Ienzo said while walking off deeper into the room. 

Letting the breeze from the window guide him, Dilan walked along the wall with fingers trailing the freestanding bookshelves taller than him. The breeze gently moved around the room giving him a hazy layout of it. He could feel how small the room was, only a couple shelves and a desk in the middle, but deeper than it was wide. They wouldn't have to yell to get Ienzo’s attention in the small room. If his memory was correct, this was supposed to be a much smaller research section. More for the seasonal assistants they hired on. As well as a study area for when Ienzo was still learning basic schooling. If he was correct, then the table should have been closer to the windows rather than away from them. He would sit with a much younger Ienzo going over multiplication tables and literature by daylight. 

He shook his head of the old memories. Nothing would change how things are now. “We should get started.” 

Altha hummed in agreement and walked up next to the bookshelf he had stopped at. “I'll let you know what they say. We can separate them into piles.” 

Dilan nodded. He did have a guess as to what most of them would be. A good amount of books in here had been a part of Even’s starting research and if what the blond has said before was correct…

“It's blank?” The young girl sounded confused. The sound of pages being flipped quickly and then the gentle closing of a book reached his ears. Dilan said nothing as she reached for another book. Another sound of pages turning rapidly. “Strange…” There was a light thump close to his feet and Dilan pulled out the first book his fingers touched. He handed it to her without saying anything.

“Blank again…”

He wasn't surprised but rather disappointed. He heard her pulling out more books and flipping through them and setting them aside. He started handing her books wordlessly, each seemingly empty by how quickly she kept setting them aside.

“How is this possible?” She pushed the stack to the side. “Where all of these blank from before?”

“Ah… you as well?” Ienzo had walked up to them. “It appears this room has been compromised. What research we had left in here is now gone.”

Dilan grunted and said, “Shame. Even’s-”

“Yes. Most of it was Even’s materials. There might be some salvageable documents but…” he trailed off, probably motioning with a hand. He sneezed suddenly. “Pardon me. As I was saying, they must be buried under all these blanks.” 

“We should clear off some space then. Start piling blanks on one shelf and if we find anything to put it on another,” Altha suggested. “Dilan, can you help me with the higher shelves?”

They set to work. Ienzo returning to his side of the room while Dilan and Altha on theirs. They eventually set up a system where Dilan would pass the higher books to Altha and she would set them into a pile. When the pile got big enough he would move them to a shelf while she started on a lower one. For Dilan, the room seemed alive with sounds. The soft turning of pages before a sharp thud of a book hitting the shelf became a steady rhythm. Ienzo moved much faster than the two of them, probably using a bit of magic to help along the way. An occasional breeze blowing through the curtain brought in the sounds of construction far off in town. Plus a sneeze or two from the three of them from the dust would break their own silence. They had indeed managed to find some basic textbooks among the shelves much to their delight. A small victory for them. 

After what felt like an hour of moving books around Altha gave a small exclamation of surprise. “This is a photo album!” 

Dilan turned to her and Ienzo came from around a bookshelf. Dilan waited in a nervous silence as Ienzo was handed the book and began flipping through the pages. He heard Altha pick up another book and started to flick through the pages as well. 

“Another one,” she announced nudging Dilan’s hand with it until he took it out of her hands. 

He looked down at it, feeling useless as he ran his fingers over the opened page. A thin plastic trailed beneath his fingertips as he moved down the page. A slight bump signaled where the photo would be. He traced the rectangle and moved down the page and found another one, much smaller and thinner this time. He could only guess it was a description of who and what they were doing. He made a noise, the mix of a sigh and grunt as he closed the book. There was a weight to it probably filled. It was small, only able to fit one photograph per page with a small box of text beneath it. 

“How many are there?” he asked as he heard more books being pulled out.

“Looks like… seven,” Altha said with a small cough. 

“Might be more in the room…”

“These look like they have been here for quite some time,” Ienzo muttered. “I don't recognize any of these people.”

Dilan was about to reply when he felt a sneeze coming on. He turned away and sneezed loud enough and sudden enough that made Altha drop a book. “Sorry… we should take a break. The dust is getting to all of us.”

Ienzo agreed with a hum. “We can continue after lunch. I'm sure the ladies in the kitchen wouldn't mind some company right now.”

The three left the photo albums on the table on the far side of the room for now. Dilan felt the need to dust himself off as he walked. He followed the other two as they talked about their findings between the shelves. Apparently, Ienzo had some better luck than they did. He had found some old research books, but the information was terribly outdated they might as well have been blank.

As they approached the main hall, the sounds of the main doors opening as well as voices travelled up to them. 

“Sounds exciting,” Altha commented moving a little faster.

“Usually means trouble,” Dilan grunted as they turned the corner on the set of stairs. 

The grand staircase of the main hallway led up to the second floor where it separated to a smaller stairway and a corridor that lead to some rooms. It was actually down this hallway that the portraits he had described the night before used to hang. Usually voices would echo up and down if they were loud enough from the main foyer. Of course Dilan and Aeleus usually would find Isa and Lea snooping around this area of the castle if and when they managed to get in. Dilan had gotten so use to hearing the two bickering or Braig telling someone to “piss off” from over a decade ago that even now his instincts were telling him that something was wrong. 

As they reached the top of the grand staircase, Dilan paused to test his hearing. The voices were coming from a group of people. About four of them all of them seeming to be arguing about something or another. But there was more than just four. He could sense there was another three standing to the side quietly. As for the four arguing, Even and Lea were two of them. As for the other two voices, it was Aeleus and another teen attempting to calm the two down. 

Scratch that. It was Aeleus and _Sora_ trying to calm them down. 

Dilan had to hold back a groan of annoyance. This wasn't going to be good. 

“Altha,” he called to her sternly. “Go see if Maggie and Bella need help in the kitchen.” 

The girl hesitated, almost wanting to step towards the argument but decided against it. “Call me if you need anything,” she said before heading in the opposite direction of the stairs. 

Dilan made his way down the stairs carefully, Ienzo had already reached the bottom and was starting to intervene.

“What is going on here?” he asked. “Lea, explain yourself.”

“I was just asking if we had any extra rooms, that's all,” Lea huffed. “Even decided to go berserk over there- Sorry Isa.”

“None taken.” Came a voice from the quiet group. Ah, Isa was here as well.

“He did not!” Even snapped. “He demanded rooms for all of them. We don't have the space as I tried to explain to him.”

“Maybe if you just let me finish-”

“Yelling in the middle of the castle isn't going to solve anything,” Dilan interjected finally reaching the group. He folded his arms across his chest. “Come to a decision after you've moved elsewhere or lower your voices.”

Even sighed and Lea groaned. “Fine.”

“This way,” Aeleus rumbled not giving the two time to consider their options. 

The group moved off to a smaller room where only a table and chair resided. They settled into their own spots. Even still grumbled to himself mostly and Sora spoke about the castle in an exciting voice at the other two quiet ones that Dilan found out were Kairi and Riku. From what he remembered about them, they were more sensible than Sora. A blessing in disguise perhaps. 

“Now, why were you all yelling about?” Ienzo calmly asked.

There was a moment of painful silence before Lea and Even began talking at the same time.   
“He was demanding space-”  
“I was suggesting-”

Dilan pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut as they continued above each other. “This is getting us nowhere.”

Aeleus sighed right next to him, seeming to agree with his sentiment.

“If it's not too much trouble,” Riku’s voice cut through the other two, “We would like a room for the night. We can leave in the morning if needed.” 

Aeleus was the one to respond, “We only have one room available at the moment.”

“Then that's fine!” Kairi said stepping closer. “It'll be just like old times for us. Kind of like a sleepover. At least it'll be better than the Gummi Ship. Right guys?” If Dilan knew anything about her, which was very little, he could guess she was grinning wide. 

“Oh sure Kairi! Just don't kick us off the bed this time,” Sora said with a laugh.

“Hey! It was one time-!” she teased back.

Meanwhile, Even and Lea had managed to calm down and separated to opposite ends of the room. At least they could _try_ to be civil. Dilan was surprised that Lea hadn't been sent through a wall when they woke up. Especially after he learned the truth of Vexen and Zexion's ends. Tensions were still high between the three of them is seemed. And despite Aeleus’ loss of magic, he still posed a towering threat should Lea cross a line again. Aeleus and Dilan had always been a barrier to Lea and Isa and this castle. One extra wall they needed to climb to get to the secrets that lay beneath their feet. Not that the two could before.

Not that Dilan could be a threat now anyways.

The thought made him frown. It hadn't been easy trying to adjust to this new life, but he was doing well for himself. If only he could just try something different…. A thought for another time.

Ienzo was making arrangements with Kairi and Riku while Sora and Isa were talking to Lea. Aeleus had moved over to Even and the two spoke in hushed tones. Dilan stood on his own attempting to make sense of all of the voices. 

Maybe this was a good opportunity to test himself after all.

From what he could gather, Riku and Kairi were confirming that it would be alright to stay here while Ienzo reassured them they would manage. It seemed they were also interested in helping around to make things run smoother. Meanwhile Sora and Isa were encouraging and chiding respectfully to Lea about his behavior- after all he was a “Keyblade Master” and should be better than this. But for Even and Aeleus… Dilan couldn't make out what they were saying before they fell silent. 

“Then it's settled,” Ienzo announced to the group. “You'll stay the night. But any longer you'll need to pull your weight around the castle just like the others.”

“Yup!” Kairi agreed. 

Riku hummed. “Understood.”

“I’ll show you to your room. Follow me,” Ienzo said leading them out the door. 

Dilan let out a soft groan and rubbed his temples. “I feel a headache coming on,” he muttered as Aeleus clapped him on the shoulder. 

“This shouldn’t cause too much trouble,” he muttered. “If anything it will help the town more.”

The raven-haired man nodded. “We should let the ladies know there will be more joining us for dinner tonight.” Aeleus made a noise of agreement as they separated from the group and headed towards the staircase. A thought came to him as they walked and Dilan said, “Aeleus, we found some photo albums in a room today. You’ve been here the longest. Perhaps you can take a look at them.”

“I think we should take a look at them now…” His answer seemed foreboding to Dilan but he chose not to question it. 

The two stopped by the kitchens and informed the two elders of their newest guests. The sound of a knife chopping rhythmically in the background. They thanked them with promises of a much grander meal than needed and the pair of guards left with the smell of curry in the air. Without a word, they made their way to the library. Walking in silence, it reminded Dilan of how they used to be back before the Darkness took over. How they hardly needed to speak in order to get a job done. Back when he could see….

“Stop thinking about it.” 

Aeleus’ calm voice next to him brought him out of his thoughts. Dilan shook his head slightly as if to clear it, only proving Aeleus’ point. He frowned. “About what?”

“Whatever was just on your mind. Stop thinking about it.” There was a beat of silence. “I can guess it was one of two things.”

Dilan huffed. Aeleus hadn't lost his touch.

“You were thinking about Braig. Or about your blindness.”

Yes, he was still good at reading him. If anything it bothered Dilan that he could. But really be should be grateful. Still, he sighed hearing him hit the proverbial nail on the head the two things that nagged at him. 

Aeleus made a sound close to an amused rumble. They walked in silence for a few steps before he spoke again, “We didn't get a chance to talk last night after….. Are you certain you are okay?”

“There’s nothing to discuss,” Dilan growled. He didn’t need to say anything. It was as Aeleus had said before: The last few years of emotions and memories had finally built up and required a way out. His confrontation with Braig had been the final push he needed. Which was rather unfortunate in Dilan’s opinion. He’d rather it have happened within the privacy of his own room or not at all. Of course he had just left after the tears had stopped last night. He wasn't about to have to sit through some sort of condolence talk with Aeleus after his emotions were done playing catch-up. 

But the larger man wanted to do just that. 

“We aren’t well versed in this area.” Aeleus had stopped walking and placed a hand on Dilan’s shoulder forcing him to stop as well. “But as your friend, Dilan, I am here to listen. At any time. Feelings of the heart aren’t as easy as we originally made them out to be.”

There was a pause, Aeleus seemed to be waiting for a signal from Dilan to continue. With a sigh, he nodded. If Aeleus wanted to say something, Dilan should listen.

“Don’t close yourself off. Whatever mistakes we made in the past should remain behind us.” He spoke slowly, making sure his words got through. “We can only learn and move forward.”

He could hear the serenity in his voice. The concern for his long time friend bleeding through with his words and the light squeeze of his shoulder. Dilan could tell Aeleus was worried about him. But what exactly he should be concerned for, Dilan didn’t know. Everything had changed around them, including themselves. There were plenty of other things to be worried about and yet here he was making sure his friend was fine. Dilan wondered if he was staring back at him or if he was just looking at the wall as he nodded at his friend. 

“Thank you, Aeleus.”

He hummed, seeming satisfied with his answer. 

They continued on only needing one more turn to reach their destination. Entering the room, the two took a moment while Aeleus took in the sight of it. Strange how time could change a stationary place. Dilan could feel a light breeze presumably from the window they must have left open. Vaguely he wondered if he should have closed it. With the window open, the room had aired out quite a bit. Everything about it felt different to Dilan. It felt open and inviting. The soft whisper of air sliding over empty shelves made Dilan realize just how many books they had moved around. He was sure they were in several piles against the wall sitting silently now that what words that had once filled them were erased. The sudden realization of just _how much_ research Even had been a part of made him cringe internally. Had he really been a part of so many projects and theories? Surely not all of them had been about what they had been working on from before….

“The albums?” Aeleus questioned, not taking too much time with small details. If Aeleus had seen the piles of books, he didn't question them. Or perhaps he had a guess. 

“They should be on the table,” Dilan muttered. Together they shuffled over to the small reading area that had been left alone not even half an hour ago. 

Together they sat and Dilan waited patiently as Aeleus looked over the books. Dilan took one of the books he wasn't looking at and ran his fingers over the cover. This one was larger than what he had held before, several photos could be placed on a page in comparison. The leather of the cover held cracks from years of flipping through or age. The tips of his fingers traveled over the slight, smooth indents where lettering was carved into and probably painted over. He could figure the word “PHOTOGRAPHS” was what he was fingering gingerly.

Silently again he wished for his eyes again. Who were these people that deemed their lives important enough to preserve their memories like this? Dilan tried to think back to if they had ever taken photos as such. The only one that he could recall were of the portraits that no longer hung in the halls. He remembered sitting still for several hours as the artist took in as many details as possible. Master Ansem had insisted on the old ways. 

_“There are times where the old ways are the better ways,” he had said with a smile. His amber eyes twinkling with adoration as he had watched his nephew run away from Braig around the gardens. The sun was bright but a cool breeze blew through the greenery as they sat in the shade. The painter hummed in agreement as Dilan took the opportunity to scratch his nose. He could hear the deep laughs of the two running around behind him somewhere. He could see the soft gaze of Ansem as he stood over the painter’s shoulder admiring his work._

Shaking his head from the memory, Dilan returned his thoughts to the present. “Do you recognize anyone?” he asked, wanting to think of anything else.

His answer was a grunt before a moment of silence. “These people…” Aeleus started then stopped. He sighed before he started again, “These are the people that originally built the castle. About five decades before Ansem the Wise inherited here.” There was a light thud as he closed the album. A soft scraping sound as he pulled another towards him. “And these the people after.”

“So that is why Ienzo didn't recognize them…” Dilan muttered as he leaned back against his chair. He listened to Aeleus flip through another album, the pages crinkling as he turned them.

“Strange…”

“Hm?”

“This final page.” He tapped the photo with a large finger making the plastic crackle in protest. “It doesn't have a description under it.”

Dilan raised an eyebrow. “Is there anything important about it?”

Aeleus seemed to hesitate before answering. “It is a picture of Lord Ansem. He's much younger than we would remember him by.” He paused and Dilan waited patiently as he searched for words. None of them discussed what happened to him yet. “He is with a young woman who is holding a newborn.”

“I didn't know he had a son…” Dilan muttered.

“I don't think this is his son... “

They were both silent as Aeleus studied the photograph. Their thoughts wandering to the same conclusion as they used to. It was completely possible the book contained photographs of the real heir of Radiant Garden. But without him, it was impossible to say of they would ever see him again. With Braig back, it would signal the rest of them should also be back. But if he hadn't shown up yet…

“We can only assume he is dead,” Aeleus finally said. Dilan nodded. “Until Lourd reveals himself, he shall be declared dead.”

“The boy never wanted the title,” Dilan stated a half frown on his lips. “I wouldn't be surprised if he never makes an appearance. Besides, the people here appear to have survived without a king for over a decade.”

Aeleus snorted. “We both know the rank was merely a scapegoat. What few interactions with the outside we did, it never came to need a ‘king’ to intervene.”

With a nod, they fell into a silence. Dilan realized he was gripping the book in his hands far too tight. He released his grip while taking a deep breath and let his flat palm travel over the top of the cover. First Braig and now a questionable return of their missing member. If he was back. Ansem the Wise knew how to pick them. 

Then again he was dead as well. Practically by their hands.

Aeleus was the first to move, piling the books he had looked through back up again. “Please continue to inform me of these photo albums. They might be of use one day.” He slid another towards himself and started flipping through. They sat in a comfortable silence as Aeleus looked through them, slowly arranging the stack in some order that he saw fit. By the last book, Dilan had stood up and stretched.

“Have you practiced for the day yet?” Dilan asked the other as the last of the books was placed in the pile. 

“No,” came the reply along with the scraping of a chair as he stood.

Dilan nodded but he felt a small smile pulling at his lips. “Good. Then we can spar after lunch.”

Aeleus chuckled. “You’re on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This felt like a beast to write only because I'm trying to work out a proper plot. And I've been on vacation.


	4. Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to get in a bit of practice in.

Lunch had been prepared and served by the time the two guards made it back to the kitchens. The smell of curry carried over three hallways from the source and would linger for another 24 hours. The mellow scent was something Dilan preferred over the harsh burn of other spices. He would miss these two when they needed to move back into their newly built homes. The babble from the kitchen grew louder as they approached making Dilan wonder how many they had in the castle now with the new arrivals. He’d do a headcount later tonight when everyone was back. 

He entered with Aeleus and was ushered to a seat before he could open his mouth. Both Maggie and Bella had a knack for doting on him even though he was perfectly capable of serving his own food. However, they insisted to have every meal brought to him. And every time he let them. Dilan wasn’t one to argue with the two elderly women, they would get their way no matter how people tried to persuade them otherwise. A plate was set before him and he carefully felt around for the fork. He’d had too many accidental finger dips for his liking. 

There was light chatter among those at the table. Mostly from the children who were talking about wanting to go exploring the castle. One had said something about hearing a noise from one of the dark corridors. And another joked about it being a ghost before the topic changed to something about flowers. Dilan filed that little tidbit into the back of his mind as he scraped up some rice from his plate.

The new arrivals did their best to keep their topics away from mentioning other Worlds; especially when the children started on their quizzing questions as to why they were here. Sure it was a known fact to most in the room, but they couldn’t release the secrets and details to the others. If there was one thing that Dilan missed most about Xaldin it would be how he could travel with ease. The creation of a Corridor of Darkness had come as a natural instinct to the Nobody. It was the pull of Darkness seeking out the Light of other Worlds that made it so easy. It was like the Darkness knew where it wanted to go and just let them have a way of getting to it. A strange symbiotic relationship if Dilan had to give it some sort of name. The possibilities of other Worlds that Xaldin hadn’t seen made Dilan wish he could see them. Or at least go to them. Being confined to the castle was taking its toll on him. Hopefully soon he’d be able to go out into the town.

Deciding to guide his own thoughts away from the topic, he suggested to Even a tour for their overnight guests. 

Next to him, Even scoffed. “They are only here for one night. Why bother?”

“Because,” Dilan started slowly. “Lea might suggest it before you and they will end up in places you don’t want them to be. Or the children.” He paused to take a sip of water and letting Even grumble for a second. “Besides, there are many dangerous places that everyone should avoid. And I’m certain they are all intrigued by this place.”

“Fine.”

And with that, Even got up and left. Dilan smiled to himself in victory. It was the little things.

He and Aeleus finished their lunch about the same time and headed out to the training grounds after ensuring no one needed assistance for some time. Not risking themselves with full stomachs, the two took their time getting there. 

They decided to stop by the laundry facilities to check on the machines. Merlin and Cid had created some sort of joint magic-machine to aid in their washing. The debates between the two of them would last hours and the testing took days. Finally there was something that wouldn’t disintegrate their clothes or start a fire or flood the entirety of the building. To be fair, Cid wanted to use as little magic as possible and Merlin couldn’t understand Cid’s machines clearly. Times were changing and they all needed to evolve with them.

Dilan could only understand so much of it. There was some sort of place to load in their clothes and another place to put the soap and then the machine took care of the rest. Something to do with spinning and a bit of magic that would make them feel and smell better. After the wash, they would dry it by either hang them up or place them into another machine that would force magically heated air into a spinning load. The sounds of whirring cogs and rushing water was all that he could gather from the machines and he let others take care of it. Someone had mentioned something about buttons at some point…. 

They left a set of bed sheets to dry and continued on their way to the training area. 

It was funny to him that the Darkness had left a clear enough area for them to fight in. Dilan also had his sneaking suspicions that some other big battle had been fought in this space. When they had first found it months ago, the ground was flat and soft beneath his boots. Most rubble had been cleared away leaving only small stones. Several yards wide and deep, the area felt oddly too perfect. The castle loomed above them creating moving shade as the day went on. And the trees surrounding half of the area blocked out the noise of construction from the town.

Within the shade of a tree, the two stretched in silence. Lunch had settled in their stomachs and Dilan could feel the heat starting to rise from the ground that warmed under the dying summer sun. Autumn will be welcomed with open arms in his mind with its cooler winds and clouds to block the harsh sun. He mentally sent out a silent prayer to the Goddesses for good weather. There was a gentle breeze that caressed the side of the castle and spiraled down to them and cooling the two. When they were both ready they made their way to the center and stood.

The midday sun was beating down hard on them, but the two didn’t care. They stood within the cleared space with a respectable distance between them. Dilan adjusted his gloves, tugging them on tighter before settling into a half crouched position. He could feel Aeleus readying himself as well.

They paused, letting the wind blow between them and giving Dilan the chance to judge the distance between them. And without a word, they both lunged for each other at the same time.

There were grunts on impact, a heavy hand on his shoulder as Dilan pushed back at his friend. He held a hand behind his neck, trying to force his head down between them, but Aeleus wasn’t budging. They pushed apart only to have Dilan push forward with a couple of quick jabs of his fist. Aeleus took the blows, knowing none of them were meant to hurt (too much) and then dodged the last. As his fist swung in mid-air Dilan felt himself being grabbed by the arm. The next thing he knew he was on his side on the ground, Aeleus standing over him and the overwhelming need to roll. So he did just that and immediately feeling and hearing a foot stomp where he just was. Swinging his legs around, Dilan tried to kick out his opponent’s legs from under him, but he jumped out of the way.

Gaining some space between them, Dilan stood and dodged a punch to his right. A fist to his shoulder showed he hadn’t anticipated the sudden followup. He didn’t give him the chance to strike him again, but instead started dancing backwards a little. 

Aeleus pushed forward instead. His feet making solid steps towards Dilan’s retreating form. It felt like Dilan couldn’t put enough space between them. 

“Push back,” Aeleus grunted between punches.

“Can’t.” Dilan took another step back to dodge another attack. He brought his arms up to cover his face and he felt several hits connect. “There’s no opening.”

After another blow to his defense, Aeleus stopped and took a step back. “There is always an opening.”

They were both breathing hard and sweating. Dilan could smell the musk they both were starting to reek of and knowing fully well they weren’t even close to being done. When they both were in peak condition they would go for hours. But now with Aeleus powered down and Dilan without his sight, they were evenly matched for each other. Even with Dilan still able to control wind (as weak as it felt it was) they were able to match each other in terms of strength. 

Or at least Dilan could assume for himself. He was doing what he could down one sense. And Aeleus always gave him his all. 

Dilan wiped the back of his neck and groaned. “How am I supposed to find one if I can’t _see_ it?”

A sigh from Aeleus between their deep breaths. “That… that is something you need to learn on your own. And what I had thought you would have found by now.”

Dilan frowned, frustrated in himself more than anything else. Once again Aeleus was right. This was something he needed to learn on his own. Only practice and time would help him. What was truly frustrating was how long it was taking him. They had started practicing months ago, by now he should have shown some form of improvement with actual one-on-one battles. But it hardly felt like he had gotten any farther. Sure he was staying on his feet now rather than falling flat on the ground within seconds of starting. But it wasn’t the level he expected himself to be at. 

Gods that was annoying.

He had managed to reconnect with an old training regimen months ago. His body originally protested in the first couple of days. Sitting around for weeks and then suddenly going back into a vigorous exercises had made him stiff and nearly bedridden the days after. But his own stubbornness and determination made him stick to it. 

Besides it gave him something to do. He could claim his handle on his lance had gotten better. The familiar weight in his hands was a comfort and he was slowly building up his control of the winds. At the very least his long range attacks would be good.

Aeleus had been with him since day one, also wanting to strengthen himself with his lack of powers. Oddly enough they were evenly matched this way. Him without sight and Aeleus without his magic over the earth. Aeleus had shown signs of knowing base magic- several cure spells had been cast after a rather harsh spar. 

“Come. Again.” Aeleus brought him back to the current situation. 

The larger man had stepped back several paces, allowing him breathing room. He waited patiently as Dilan readied himself. 

Once again there was a breath of wind that swept over the field and Dilan could feel the distance between them. In four steps they would collide if Aeleus approach at the same time. 

With one more deep breath, he sprang forward. Two steps in he realized that Aeleus wasn’t moving, but remaining stock still for him. By the third step Dilan decided to continue through, maybe he’d be able to pull an advantage through here. 

They connected with echoing grunts and the earth seeming to shake under their feet. Dilan’s hands on Aeleus’ shoulders pushing him back in just brute strength. Electricity seemed to charge between them as they grappled each other, trying to the upper hand. A sudden shove from Aeleus made Dilan teeter back, catching him by surprise. It was enough space for the other to hit his stomach in a quick jab. Dilan blocked the second fist with his arm, suddenly winded and dizzy. He pushed through it and tried to hit back only to have his fist caught in Aeleus’ hand and pushed away. Dilan leaned back, feeling the air being sliced through where he face was a fist soared past. He grit his teeth and swung a punch at Aeleus’ shoulder which connected only to have Aeleus land a hit on his leg from a kick. A hand grabbed Dilan’s wrist as he was pulling back from his last attack. This was it. There was a hit on the side of his cheek signaling a punch that would have sent him sprawling or knocking him out cold. They stopped and Dilan held back a frustrated growl. Why couldn’t he do this?

“You’re thinking too much,” Aeleus said.

“I have a lot on my mind…” Dilan grumbled and started to walk away. He suddenly felt the need to pace as if that would help him release whatever tension was bothering him. 

“If it’s about last night we can talk-”

“That is none of your concern,” Dilan practically spat. The anger in his voice surprised him. The silence that followed made him shake his head and sighed. “My apologizes Aeleus. It isn’t something I’m ready to talk about yet.”

Another moment of silence as he figured Aeleus was debating on pushing the subject further. There was a big inhale and then a muffled sigh. “I’m here when you are ready to talk.”

It felt like they were doing this dance all over again. Just like how it used to be. Dilan would avoid talking about himself or what was going on with him and Aeleus offered an ear. Eventually things would just come to a peace on their own and Dilan wouldn’t need to say anything. Somehow this time felt different. There was no long shifts at night where they could sit in silence next to each other and let their thoughts wander. There wasn’t any set hours of the day where they would train with one another. Today they got lucky that Aeleus was available for this. He would be out in the town helping to clean up or reconstruct. More often than not, Dilan found himself alone. That wasn’t to say the castle wasn’t recently busy with people, but he wasn’t about to tell them about anything so personal about himself. If anything Aeleus was the only person that Dilan could trust with such precious thoughts and (dare he say it) feelings. 

Well, Aeleus and Braig that is.

But now could he really trust Braig? Could he really trust Aeleus again with everything that had happened? Lexaeus and Xaldin had gone their separate ways in the Organization, but did that give Aeleus and Dilan now the chance to go back to how they used to be? And if so, shouldn’t Dilan let Braig back into his life just as before? They were friends after all.

The three had been close, there was no doubt. But now-

Footsteps and voices dragged him from his thoughts. He turned his head as if to watch the approaching group, but it was more out of habit and acknowledgment. 

“And here are the training grounds,” Even was saying. He stopped before entering the cleared space and the group behind him slowly filed into the space. “Of course you two would be here,” the scientist said with a sigh.

A chuckle from Lea. “Made it easy to sneak in back in the day…”

Dilan held himself back from rolling his eyes. “And yet we still caught you both.”

This time it was Kairi who let out a laugh. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. You were terrible in training Lea.”

“Those should be some interesting stories,” Isa commented, a little further back. He was probably still standing by Even. “We can trade some later.”

“Excellent!” she cheered over Lea’s groan.

“Some practice doesn’t sound like a bad idea….” Riku muttered to Dilan’s left. He was pacing around the field slowly, probably getting a feel for the area. “Tomorrow morning at least.”

“We shall make sure it’s clear for you,” Dilan said with a slight nod.

“Oh. Thanks.”

“How early?” Sora asked, his tone suggesting that he didn’t like the idea of waking up earlier than he needed to.

“The earlier the better,” Kairi suggested. Dilan could hear the smile in her voice as she teased the other. “Maybe right before breakfast.”

“That’s so early!” Sora whined making the group chuckle.

Something in the back of Dilan’s mind wondered how in the worlds this kid managed to defeat and free all of them. He was just a kid. From his mannerisms to how he looked, Dilan could only see him as a child. A rather poor excuse for several Nobodies and Heartless with power and magic on their side. Then again, the kid did have the duck and dog with him… Wait… Where were they?

*

Down into the city of Radiant Garden, Donald Duck and Goofy strolled through the twisting pathways.

“Are ya sure it’s this way Donald?” Goofy asked, a hand scratching under his hand. “This sure doesn’t look right…”

Donald was staring at a piece of paper in his hands and glaring at the words written on it. “Unca Scrooge gave me directions. It has to be this way!” he insisted taking a turn down another street without looking up from the page.

Goofy followed still unsure of their destination. His long stride keeping up with the quick steps of Donald with ease. He glanced around the ruined buildings and stepped around fallen rocks. Something told him this didn’t look like where a multi-bajillionare duck would live. In his mind, the elder duck would be living in the far better side of town or at least have his own quadrant…. Maybe munny didn’t convert properly across worlds? Sora never seemed to have a problem with it whenever they had traveled before.

“Aha! There it is!” Donald had ran forward, nearly tripping over himself as he got out of the alleyway that opened up to a rather large square. And as Goofy caught up he realized that the square was actually the driveway to a rather large mansion. 

Nearly twice the size of the one in Twilight town, the recently painted brick building towered over the surrounding area with it’s four stories. The bright green lawn had a winding paved pathway cutting through it. Several bushes were starting to grow in nicely and would surely bud nice in the spring. There were a handful of tree saps that were supported by poles peppered around the lawn and a rather large oak peeking out from behind the house. A fountain stood to the left of the path where a tower of pots spouted the water in different directions. It was a shocking contrast to the rest of the city. 

“Garwsh…”

Tall wooden doors held a large knocker each; one of which Donald eagerly banged several times. “Unca Scrooge!” he called, excitement written all over his face.

It took a moment, but the doors swung inward to reveal the elderly duck standing in the foyer. With a smile and wide arms, Scrooge McDuck invited the two in only to have his arms full of Donald as they hugged it out. “Oh my! You make it seem like I haven’t seen you in years,” he said, accent thick as ever.

“It’s been months!” Donald replied giving him some space. 

Goofy nodded. “Donald sure has been worried about ya.” 

“How kind of you,” Scrooge said leading them into the mansion. “But I’ve been managing just fine actually.”

The inside was just as pretty as the outside. Several vases held neatly arranged flowers and there were even a few potted trees inside. Several empty spots along the wall showed signs of where a statue or a painting should have been but now mysteriously vacant. Tiled floors were polished to shine as the trio walked into a large sitting area. Three large couches surrounded a glass coffee table that faced a fire place. Through an archway was a dining table and through another was a carpeted hallway.

“This is a nice place you got here Mister Scrooge,” Goofy commented taking a seat on a plush couch. 

Donald jumped up next to him, his feet not even touching the floor. “And you live here all by yourself?”

“Oh goodness no,” Scrooge said. He turned away for a moment and picked up a tray with a teapot and cups on it. He walked over to the small table and set it down and began pouring out some tea for his guests. “There are two other boys that live here with me. Turns out it used to belong to one of them. I had found this place abandoned years ago and decided to spruce it up a bit. Unfortunately the plumbing still isn’t fixed for most of the place. Otherwise I’d help with all the extra people around. Sugar?” With a shake of their heads, Donald and Goofy accepted their cups of tea. Scrooge took his time getting into his favorite spot on a couch and leaned back into the supportive back cushion with cup in hand.

There was a moment of silence as the three took sips of their tea, enjoying it with a sigh of bliss each. Sometimes it was nice just to enjoy the quiet like this. Scrooge was lucky the other two were currently out in the town doing… whatever it was they did. He wanted to spend time with his nephew with as little distractions as possible. Not that they were bad housemates. Just a little loud.

Goofy was the one to break the silence. “There sure are a lot of people in the town. A real shame you can’t help them here.”

Scrooge sighed with a nod. “It is… The top two floors don’t have plumbing. And a corner doesn’t even have electric. Something about that final fight you boys had knocked it all out. But since it was just me at the time, it didn’t bother me too much.” He took a sip from his cup. “The lad and his friend that live here showed up not too long after that. Now of course I didn’t believe him at first, but he did prove me wrong.”

“Aw phooey Unca Scrooge. He should’ve stayed here if he wanted to keep the place.” Donald muttered into his cup.

“Now now Donald. He proved himself fair-and-square,” he chided. “And he let me stay. So it wasn’t so bad after all.”

*

Back in the castle, Dilan had made his way to the library where they needed to finish sorting through the books before they lost any more daylight. A fresh shower and clean clothes made the difference. He wondered if he should consider asking Aeleus for another shave, or if he even needed it. It didn’t feel like he was due for one, but something told him it might be time. He made a mental note to ask him if they got another free minute.

Aeleus had gone into the city to see if there was anyone in need of his help with the rebuilding. He was turning into a rather useful handy man with the smaller things rather than solely bringing in support beams. It was good to hear that he would be helpful in other areas rather than just with brute force.

Somehow the two of them were invited to tomorrow morning’s practice of the Keybearers. Dilan wasn’t sure what he could do to help them, but somehow they agreed to all meet up right before breakfast for some early morning training reps (at the very least Riku seemed to hint at). From what Dilan could understand, Sora still wasn’t a fully titled Keyblade Master despite of everything he had gone through before. And of course Dilan didn’t want to be a punching bag for any of them. The prospect of having to fight against one of those things sent a shiver down his spine. Maybe one day he would get over this unnecessary fear, but today wasn’t that day. 

There were muffled soft voices from behind the door of the library as he approached. He figured that Altha and Ienzo were already inside and entered without thinking. 

He was only half right.

“Oh hello Mr. Dilan,” Altha’s voice reached him. “Mr. Braig had stopped by to see if we had made any progress and offered to help with the books.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a turn in a different direction than where I wanted it to go when I first thought of it. I still haven't been able to do what I've been wanting to write since when I first planning out this strange AU. Maybe I'll get to it next chapter? Work is about to go into a crazy season so it might take a while for the next couple of chapters to come out, please bear with me.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has been reading so far!


	5. Organizing Thoughts

There were few times in his life that Dilan could say he wanted to slam a door shut. The first being when his teenage hormones started kicking in and he had a rather serious fight with his parents causing him to nearly break the hinges off his door. Another time being when he accidently walked in on two naked coworkers in the middle of a rather passionate love-making session. But he quietly backed out of that room before either could notice (and he’s never told Aeleus since). And a rather strange memory that wasn’t his own, but that of Xaldin’s discovery of the truth of the Organization. 

However at this moment in time, Dilan wanted to turn tail and run out of fear. Fear that he wasn’t ready to be seen in front of someone who had seen him at his weakest the night before. Fear that he would once again be out of control with his emotions and have someone else see him weak. 

But of course he couldn’t just do what he wanted. They had already seen him and he didn’t have any sort of excuse to back out of the room properly. Not that he could think of anything with his brain trying to wrap around the idea that Braig had come back from town and was in the same room as him when it was less than 24 hours ago that he had broken down into tears in front of him. He had to save face somehow. So he did what he did best, pretend that he was okay with the situation and just move on with his job.

“Thank you Altha,” he said moving closer to the table they were sitting at. He stood next to a chair, not planning on sitting down just yet until they all decided what to do. Then again, they were probably waiting on him. “Did you manage to learn anything?” he asked not sure who he was directing the question to.

“I had seen Aeleus before I got here,” Braig spoke to his right. “He mentioned about putting these in the proper order.” There was a tap on what Dilan assumed was the photo albums they had left. “I should be able to help if we find any more.” He seemed as nervous as Dilan felt. Maybe he was wondering if Dilan was going to break down again. Of course he wouldn’t. But did Braig have any reason not to think that?

“Then best we get to work,” Dilan responded with a slight nod. “Ienzo should be on his way here soon.” He started to move away wondering if he was heading to the correct bookshelf he and the girl had left before.

There was a creak of a chair and then a rustle of fabric before he felt a touch on his hand. “We were at this shelf Mr. Dilan,” Altha said guiding him two rows over. “I think Mr. Ienzo was working on this one over here…” her voice grew more distant as she moved to show Braig where to start. “We’ve been putting the blank books over here. And anything else over here. It’s mostly been textbooks, but feel free to start another pile or shelf if you find anything else.”

“Thank you… uh.. Altha.” 

There was a moment of pause before Dilan heard her approach him again. She started humming lightly as she moved some books around on the shelf in front of her. Dilan waited for the light tap on his arm before he took the book from her and moved it to another shelf. They worked in silence, the sound of cracking spines and leafing pages gently broke the stillness of the room. Dilan couldn’t help but wonder if Braig was finding anything of interest on his side. He noted how his nerves had calmed down since they managed to move apart. He still couldn’t help the feeling that Braig might be looking at him through the bookcases. But he doubted that would be the case. 

There was a sound of footsteps approaching the room and he turned his head towards the door. 

“-is the last thing you should be worried about, Even...” he heard Ienzo say before entering the room.

There was a second set not far behind him. “Ienzo, listen. We can't have some child’s birthday party here.”

Dilan couldn’t help the smirk on his face. It was the little things that Even prefered to worry about, and sometimes it paid off. Perhaps not for this particular point but still…

Ienzo sighed. “We already agreed to hosting said party a two days ago when Mrs. Leiton asked. It isn't anything for you to be concerned about.”

“But we don't know how to host a party!”

“Which is exactly why the boy’s mother is in charge of it all. Dilan was there, he can vouch for this decision.” 

“Don't bring me into this,” Dilan grumbled as he set two more books onto the shelf he was kneeling in front of. He ignored the light jab from another book that Altha was trying to hand him and stood to turn to the other two. “Ienzo is right Even. We made arrangements two days prior. They are using the courtyard along the pathway to the town. There are trees and space for what Michele wants to do.”

“The boy is turning six,” Ienzo added. “And a celebration will boost morale for everyone here. The children are turning restless with the amount of school work they have to sit through. A break is what everyone needs.”

There was silence for a moment. Dilan could practically hear the gears turning in Even’s head as he tried to get out of it. His mouth was probably opening and closing as he ran through the possible excuses. 

“Don't worry about it,” Braig’s muffled voice cut in from behind a shelf. “We all know you just don't want to deal with the clean up.”

Even huffed. Dilan could imagine him pursing his lips together and holding back a retort with Altha in the room. He was never one to make a scene when it could be avoided. Especially with someone new or rather had more connections he could use later. 

Ienzo sighed and set something down on the table. “Even. We agreed on this already. The mother is nearly done getting what she wants for the party and the children are excited for it. It’ll only be a few hours and it will get the kids outside of the castle for a while. If you are concerned for anything else, then perhaps you should go into town that day and avoid the celebrations.”

“I shall remain here, thank you very much,” Even said, no doubt frowning. “Just know that I didn’t approve of this.” He scoffed and shuffled out of the library without another word, but Dilan could hear him grumbling to himself as soon as he turned the corner.

Ienzo sighed. “Nothing pleases him.”

Braig chuckled. “Nothing other than that lab of his ever did.”

Dilan merely shook his head and took the book that Altha had been patiently holding out to him. He placed it on the shelf with the other blank books before taking another one.

“So that’s what the ladies were talking about…” Altha mused as she flipped through another book and set it next to her. 

“Don’t worry about Even,” Ienzo said as he approached the two of them. “He’s worries more than necessary.” 

Dilan felt a book nudge his arm before Altha spoke again. “Mr. Even seems stressed most of the time. Maybe he should consider a proper sleeping routine or tea.”

A laugh from a couple of shelves over. “As if. Even would rather work all day and night if it meant getting his experiments done.” There was a heavy thud and a grunt. “And with all of his missing research, I wouldn’t be surprised if the man wanted to start over.”

“What was his research about?” Altha asked as she stood up next to Dilan to hand him a rather large stack of books. “These are in different languages,” she said to him and then directed him to another shelf.

There was a definitive silence that had followed her innocent question. The other three in the room were unsure how to give a proper answer. Research about the heart wasn’t exactly what most people want to hear. To give out such sensitive information would make them a target for the townspeople despite having opened their doors to them. But an outright lie could bounce back and harm them later. Then again if the girl was asking then maybe the townspeople didn’t know as much as they had presumed they knew. 

Dilan could feel the stares of Ienzo and Braig on him as he carried the books for the girl to another shelf. He quickly cleared his throat. “Mostly human relations. And medicines.” Close enough.

Altha gave a hum of approval. “Interesting.” She took some of the books out of his arms and placed them on the shelves. 

Ienzo coughed lightly. “You said these books were in another language?” he asked diverting the topic with ease.

“Oh yes.” She took the last book out of Dilan’s arms and opened it with a fluttering of pages. “I’m not even sure what is written in them. But some look like journals of some sort.” She flipped through a couple of pages by the sound of it. 

There was a hum from Ienzo as Dilan guessed he scanned through the pages. A warmth to Dilan’s left made him guess that Braig had joined them. There was an unmistakable tension between them. Given the abrupt end to their conversation last night, Dilan was more surprised that Braig was willing to stand so close to him. He probably thought it wasn’t as intimidating standing next to him despite the light conversation they had. Dilan shifted a little, unsure of what to do as the other three looked at the book. 

“What are the others like?” he finally asked needing to break the silence a little.

One was taken from the shelf and flipped open, the spine cracking in protest. “Hard to say,” Braig muttered. He turned a page. “Doesn’t look like any language I’m familiar with.”

Dilan raised his eyebrows in surprise. “And here I thought you were the linguistics person of our group.”

A snort. “And you pretend you don’t know other languages.”

“Hardly conversational.” Dilan waved him off.

There was a soft thump of a cover closing and then a tired sigh from Ienzo. “Not all of these are in the same language. With a bit of magic and time I might be able to translate them. I can start tomorrow.”

Dilan nodded in agreement with the rest of them, or at least he thought they agreed. Silently he wished to be of more help, but there wasn't anything he could do. Altha gently led him back to where they were organizing before. The sounds of the city’s construction drifted in through the windows as the wind changed direction. How much longer until they all had a moment to breathe?

The rest of the afternoon passed in relative silence. The turning pages of a book and the less than occasional sneeze were the sounds of his afternoon. He was actually surprised when he realized how much time had passed without them speaking until Braig had a ridiculous sneeze that made Altha jump and sent an apparent tower of books to the ground. There was a rush of feet and then laughs when they realized how silly the situation had been. How strange it felt to feel like nothing had changed. But so much had changed.

It wasn't much longer until they had finished going through everything. With an established system and Braig’s help, it was easy. With time to spare before dinner, Altha left to check on the laundry and Dilan began heading to the kitchen to check on the food. 

“Just a moment Dilan,” Ienzo said from the back of the room. “I think I found something of interest to you.”

Slowly, he turned towards the young apprentice. A few quick steps and Ienzo placed a small book in his hands. Turning it over, Dilan felt the smooth cover under his fingers. The spine was cracked in a several spots meaning it was well read but Dilan was still at a loss. 

“It’s an old journal. There are a couple of pages with raised writing in it. I'm guessing the owner had different types of ink while he was making it. Too thick and well… This is the result.” Ienzo managed a sympathetic tone as he spoke. 

Dilan understood what he was trying to get at. It was an attempt on getting him to help. This wasn’t his strong point anymore. Nevertheless, he appreciated Ienzo’s temporary solution. He nodded and left the room, tucking the book under his arm.

*

Dinner was quick and the clean up even quicker. The ladies were insistent on getting as much room in the fridge open for the upcoming celebration and wanted to clean out the fridge. Dilan ended up in his room and sitting with the book on the desk in front of him.

He took in a deep breath, wondering if this was even going to be worth his time or not. He assumed it would be alright since Ienzo had given it to him. This was supposed to be a personal journal. If Ienzo didn’t recognize the name then it would be from quite some time ago. And if it was kept in the castle and in the library it might have some useful insight to it. Dilan just wondered if he could even get anything out of it. With apparently random passages written in the thick ink it would only be reading random chapters of a book and then guessing what the story was. 

Perhaps another day.

He sighed and left the book on his desk, instead went to bed. 

*

Early the next morning, Dilan found himself on the training grounds once again with Aeleus a few feet away. This time they faced the Keybladers who were sparring in the center of the field. Currently it was Riku against Lea, and by the sound of it, it wasn’t going good for Lea.

“Keep a firm grip Lea!” Aeleus barked from next to him. “It isn’t a discus.”

There was a loud grunt along with a sympathetic hiss from Sora on his other side. 

“Riku’s not holding back this morning is he?” Kairi asked, her innocent tone couldn’t hide the half snickers Dilan heard her holding back for the last few minutes. 

“No…” Sora responded with a tired sigh. He had been the first to go up against Riku. “No he isn’t…”

If anything it was reassuring knowing that Lea was getting whipped into shape. Literally. The boy who was deemed a full Keyblade Master was putting them through a few short rounds of what sounded to be brutal matches against him. Only defensive magic allowed but this was more for the sake of practice than anything else. Dilan couldn’t help the smirk as he listened to the sound of another solid hit landing on Lea. 

“Look for an opening and strike back!” Aeleus called out.

There was another groan of pain from Lea and Isa let out a sigh from behind them. 

“Nice try,” Riku panted out. “But Aeleus was right. Your grip isn’t tight enough on your Keyblade.”

“I’m not exactly used to this…” Lea grumbled. “Can’t I just change it back to what I’m good with?”

Dilan shook his head. “A good fighter will know how to adapt and change with what they have. Not simply sticking to what they know.” There was another long sigh from Lea but not another word from him. Dilan turned his head to where Kairi was standing. “Five minute break and then it’s your turn.”

“Alright!” she beamed, clearly ready to go.

A light scent of mint filled the air as Riku used a potion on himself. “How is the construction on the town going?” he asked. 

The groaning of machines and hammers were slowly starting to drift towards them. It was all a good sign that things were flowing smoothly in town. The Restoration Committee had enough people to work out several shifts, some of which started in the early hours of sunlight. With more people settling into their new homes, those willing to work were giving what time they had to help fix the city. 

“It goes smoothly from what I understand,” Dilan answered. “I last heard the North and Central blocks have been mostly restored. At least what they can reach. They are slowly moving out to the Southern section. Unfortunately because of the unstable groundwork of the other sectors, work can’t be started anywhere else. I’m sure Leon or Cid could give a better explanation.”

Riku hummed, seeming satisfied with the answer. 

“‘Unstable groundwork’?” Kairi asked.

Aeleus was the one that answered this time. “Due to the effects of the last battle on the outskirts of the city, there was an underground chain reaction. The shockwaves caused a large section of the tunnels to collapse on themselves. It finally settled, but the damage was done.”

“Thusly why there are so many people without homes….” Isa surmised.

“Correct.”

“A real shame….” Sora said sounding guilty. “I didn't think we caused so much trouble.”

“It was mostly the Heartless to blame,” Dilan said with a half shrug. “They had been a plague on the tunnels for years. There used to be a set of monsters before the Heartless that would run rampant through them from before.... Years of fighting had taken its toll on the framework. But you were the final push to it's destruction.”

“That doesn't help at all….” Sora muttered as Lea came towards the group, groaning as he sat on the ground next to Isa. “Better luck next time Lea!”

“Yeah, yeah….” he grumbled.

Kairi practically bounced to the center of the training ground, clearly ready for her turn. “Ready Riku?” He must have nodded because there was soft chime of a Keyblade being summoned. “How's my stance?” she called over to them.

“A little wider…. Good. That gives you a better center of gravity,” Aeleus instructed. 

There was a second of silence and then they moved. Riku charging in first and Kairi taking a step to dodge. Riku switched directions quickly causing her to stumble as their Keyblades connected with a clang. 

“Good defense,” Dilan muttered and Aeleus hummed in agreement. 

The air shifted and moved around the two in the center. Every swipe and step was a feed of information to Dilan. The air swirled and swished as they attacked and evaded one another almost in a dance. Dilan could see how Kairi’s fighting style was different from the other two. While her movements were unsure and slow, she had confidence with each side step and returning blow she dealt. She moved more like she was dancing than fighting. Far more lighter on her feet than Sora or Lea who moved with solid footsteps as if to maintain their ground. This girl was more willing to change where she needed to be to avoid a hit rather than take it. Which was a good thing, considering she would probably take more damage than these trained fighters. 

Riku on the other hand was certain of every move he made. His footfalls solid but light, willing to make a twist or step to avoid a hit or brace to take a hit. He would stand his ground as Kairi attempted a combo, blocking the whole time, and telling her where her openings were. Even from this distance Dilan could feel the power he held back as he fought all three of the others. The boy had a good grip on the light and darkness within himself, the energy that radiated off of him and his weapon was enthralling.

With a final slash and the shattering of a barrier, the match was over. Riku being the clear victor. Kairi sat where she fell and took a few minutes to catch her breath. The smell of mint was back again as they both took a potion with light chuckles at some joke between them. 

“She's getting better,” Sora commented. Dilan could hear the smile in his voice.

“Did she have any training before all of this?” Aeleus asked.

“Nope. We've been teaching her most of the way.” He chuckled. “She actually rushed in to save me once from a bunch of Heartless. No hesitation. Guess she has the instinct in her.” There was something in his voice that caught Dilan’s attention. Something like admiration and respect. It was heartwarming to hear it.

“Impressive,” Dilan said with a nod. To think a Princess of Light could fight so well….

Footsteps rushing towards them made Dilan turn his head to the newcomer. Light and fast, it had to be one of the children of the castle rushing to them. He sounded out of breath as he reached the clearing, stopping for a moment only to rush directly towards Aeleus and himself.

“Mister Dilan! Mister Aeleus!” Dilan recognized the voice to belong to Rylee. An eight-year-old whose mother was actually the school teacher of their little hotel currently. 

Dilan knelt down so he could be closer to the child. It wouldn't be something simple if he was sprinting to see them. “What's wrong?”

“There's monsters in the castle!”

“What?” “Monsters?” “Maybe Heartless?” “How did they get here?”

Dilan ignored the people behind him and asked as calmly as he could. “Where in the castle? And is everyone else alright?”

The boy was bouncing on his feet as if he was ready to spring again. “Fifth floor. I think the north corridors? Mister Braig and Mister Even are holding them off as best as they can. Everyone else has moved to the kitchen downstairs with Mister Ienzo.”

“Let's go,” Aeleus rumbled. Dilan could hear the echoes of agreements.

He nodded to Rylee. “Lead the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all I want to apologize for the wait. Work caught up to me in terms of how busy it got and then there was some cosplays that I needed to get done. On top of that my brain just wanted to work on some stuff that will be coming up in later chapters instead of focusing on this one.
> 
> That being said, that's for waiting and sticking around! I've got at least another four chapters to go with this. And I'm half debating on making a side series of some of these OCs and background characters to fill in for the gaps. And not sure if this is going to have a sequel, but we shall see where the cards fall.
> 
> Thanks for reading and see you next chapter!


	6. The Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise attack from the Heartless on the residents of the castle.  
> Also known as the chapter I've been wanting to write since the beginning but kept getting distracted by later scenes to properly focus on.

The thunder of footsteps followed him as he ran into the castle. His hand extended for the eight-year-old to grasp and lead him to the others. Aeleus and most of the Keybearers separated in the main hall, heading up the stairs to where the monster swarm was supposed to be. Behind him Isa and Lea followed close. There was a rumble that shook the building that made them pause. The child gulping down a scream and then lead them on. 

How was this possible? The Heartless hadn’t made any appearances in months. In theory with the defeat of Xehanort the routes between worlds would have closed and stopped the Heartless from leaking out into them. With this World and this castle being ground zero, Dilan had surmised that they had simply all gone.

Nice to see the universe still kept him on his toes.

They entered the kitchen partially out of breath. The smell of curry still lingering in the air from the day before as well as something sweet, faint but still there. Fear and worry clouded the air as their guests kept close to one another. Dilan stood tall as Rylee let go of his hand and ran to his mother. 

“I’m assuming the others went to fight.” Ienzo’s voice was tense as he approached. 

Dilan nodded. “Aeleus is leading them up to the fifth floor where Rylee had indicated where the attacks were.” A mild tremor shook the castle making the group huddled together with a collective gasp and one small child began to cry. “Good work getting them all together.”

“Well not everyone…” Ienzo sighed. “I had been talking with Even about today’s schedule when the first one was spotted. Word travels fast when everyone is conveniently in one spot.” Ah breakfast time.

“We’re here as backup,” Lea offered.

“Splendid,” Ienzo muttered. He cleared his throat and guided Dilan away from the group of people. “Dilan, I’m worried.”

Dilan raised his eyebrows in surprise. Ienzo never usually explained himself at all. He tended to withhold information for his liking, but fully admitting something was wrong was out of his character.

“The Heartless have spawned inside of the castle… but not in the basement. You of all the others here would know better than I they would have reemerged from there above all else.” Dilan could hear him chewing on his bottom lip as he collected his thoughts. “I believe there are other forces at work here. Something that’s evolved from the first set we created.”

He frowned. Was it possible? Stranger things had happened in this last year alone that he wouldn’t doubt it. Dilan didn’t want to think that was the answer. His thoughts were pushed aside as a shout from one of the kids tore through the room. 

“Stand back!” Lea yelled as he rushed forward. The chime of a Keyblade being summoned accompanied the sound of a Heartless disintegrating came from the doorway they had entered from. “How did they get here?” he growled smacking away a couple more.

Ienzo took a step back towards the group in the kitchen. “Possibly snuck around the others.”

Dilan summoned his lance to his hand. “This is as far as they go.” He trusted Lea to keep them mostly in check, but should one sneak past he was ready. There wasn't a lot of room in the kitchen on a normal day. But with the guests of the castle currently crowded into it, it would prove difficult to fight in. He didn’t want to risk an attack hitting them whether it be intentional or not.

Lea easily managed to push them back into the hallway, giving him more room to maneuver and dodge. Dilan followed, his form and lance covering most of the entryway. He could smell the Darkness coming off of the Heartless, it reminded him of leather shoes left out in the rain for too long. The stuffy corridor came to life with movement as Lea sliced and spun his weapon through the air. The Heartless themselves hardly shifted the air around them, they were made of shadows and energy. The particular pureblooded ones only created enough movement when they launched an attack. Dilan defended more than he could attack with the two that got through. He gritted his teeth against the pain that shot up his arm feeling the first of the scratches from them. Damn how these things moved!

He learned (or rather remembered) quick enough that if he could hold out against an attack then he could counter with ease. They tended to freeze where they landed after they attacked making it easy for Dilan to find and stab them. One saving grace was how wide the hallway was. He had enough room to swing his lance around. The third Heartless that got past Lea was gone before it could reach Dilan.

Lea was holding his own against the other more solid forms. Dilan could hear him breathing hard, the exhaustion from the training and now this must have been taking its toll on him. Or he was just taking a beating. He was firing off several spells at what Dilan could guess we're Emblem Heartless - their forms more solid compared to the Shadows - and slowly backing up down the hall. 

For a moment the two thought they had managed to get rid of the Heartless only for a loud clunk to sound from down the hallway. Heavy footfalls made their way closer to them and Dilan could feel the enormous figure that took up most of the corridor.

“How are there still this many?” He huffed as he swung at a small form that disappeared on impact. “Did the others get overrun?” 

Before Dilan could wager a guess the entire castle shook. Dilan was slammed into a wall, his head spinning from where he smacked his head against it. Everything went out of focus. The world melted like honey around him as he tried to get his bearings. He could hear Lea cursing up a storm a few feet away. He could hear the crying children behind him and the weak attempts of the adults to calm them along with their own questions. He could hear Ienzo calling out to him and Isa to Lea. He tried to focus on his legs, getting them to support his weight as his head started to clear. He leaned carefully on his lance for support as he stood and held his head. He's probably going to have a bump there but nothing a little cure spell won't fix later. 

“Get down!” A voice rang out clear and Dilan automatically pushed himself against the wall. Another shout and then a cold burst of air soared in front of him. The sound of ice shattering against steel as well as a resounding thud from the Heartless being momentarily stunned reached Dilan’s ears. “ _Here’s another one!_ ” A moment later another ice ball came sailing past him and exploded against the Morning Star.

“Mr. Dilan!” 

Not a second later Dilan could taste peppermint in his mouth and his head cleared. He shook it gently as he stood up straight. A second cure spell was sent to Lea filling the air with the smell of mint that overpowered the reeking scent of Darkness. Dilan felt a hand on his arm that gently squeezed it. 

“Are you alright?” Altha’s voice was full of concern. “We came as soon as we could and-”

“Less talking and more fighting Altha!” The person from earlier called closer to Lea. 

“Kid you shouldn’t be-” Lea’s protest was cut short as an arm of the Heartless made a sweeping motion at them forcing them to dodge out of the way. 

“Uh. Right.” She turned away from him and called out a spell. “ _Stopra!_ ” Dilan automatically knew the Heartless froze in place. The air still shifting as it had been lifting it's arm. Altha nudged Dilan and turned him slightly. “It's directly in front of us. The head’s higher than you.”

Dilan nodded and focused on the figure in front of him. The boy front focused on shooting out spells as quick as he could at the large Heartless with the limited amount of time they had as Lea went in for the closer attacks. Dilan could feel Altha taking a step back behind him slightly, giving him room to swing if needed. Gripping his lance in his hand, Dilan took a couple of steps forward and jumped. A small spiral of wind beneath his feet helped pushed him up into the air. He cleared over the heads of the other two and above the Heartless. A cool rush of wind passed over him as he made it high enough. Swinging out his lance, he brought it down on top of the Morning Star’s head with a clang. As he continued to fall, Dilan kicked off of its chest and back behind Lea as he made a final blow.

Time restarted for the creature. It jerked and clanged around as the attacks took effect and finally the Heartless collapsed on itself. The screech of metal on metal its final calling card as it disappeared. The four of them held their breaths for a second waiting to see if there was more. When nothing came they relaxed. 

“Thanks,” Dilan said turning back to Altha. 

“Glad we came…. Kushar and I felt the castle shaking and came to investigate and-- Hey wait!” Altha started to explain. There was a grunt from the other person and she snapped at him, “Stop moving.” Another grunt and then silence as she muttered a healing spell and sharp smell of mint mixed with cinnamon filled the air. “You shouldn’t be fighting with this arm,” she chided him.

“We weren’t going to just leave them alone,” the guy that Dilan assumed was Kushar grumbled.

“Still…” She sighed.

Lea stepped up to them and dismissed his Keyblade. “Thanks for your help. But we could have handled it. Besides, the girl’s right. You shouldn’t fight with that broken arm.”

“If you say so,” Kushar said practically brushing them off. 

Lea gave an annoyed sighed. “How’d you learn to fight like that?”

“A lot happened when the town was taken over by the Darkness,” Kushar answered bluntly. His voice drifting farther away as he moved down the hall. “Just make sure the others are okay.”

“Kushar, wait!” Altha called. “Excuse us.” There was a rustle of fabric and Altha was gone, the faint smell of roses trailing after her as she chased after the boy.

Dilan was about to call out to them when Ienzo stepped out of the kitchen. “Everyone here is fine. A little shaken, but fine.”

“Good.” Dilan walked back towards the kitchen, dismissing the lance still in hand. He’d find Altha later and properly thank her. And they boy as well he supposed.

“I’m going to check on the others,” Lea said as he started in the other direction.

Dilan walked into the kitchen, the citizens of the town were talking excitedly about what just happened. Some inkling of fear settled itself into the back of Dilan’s brain. What if they didn’t think the castle was safe anymore? Would the Restoration Committee pull all of them out? Including the former apprentices? Would that force them to live in town, if so what happens to the castle? What will become of them? He tucked those thoughts away as he heard someone approach. 

“Where did Lea go?” It was Isa. He spoke quietly almost like he was trying to tell a secret. 

“He went looking for the others. He should be back soon,” Dilan answered.

Isa hummed, satisfied with the answer.

Dilan gave him a nod and took a couple of steps to the others. Two children ran up to him. “Thank you mister Dilan!” they cheered. Maggie hummed in agreement. “Yes, thank you.”

He gave them a small smile. “Everyone is safe. That is what counts.” 

“Strange how sudden those monsters appeared,” Bella commented and Dilan could feel himself stiffen with anxiety. “Been quite some time since I’ve seen them.”

Rylee’s mother hummed in agreement. “Several months I believe.” She didn’t sound as happy as the children.

“We shall investigate where they are coming from,” Ienzo spoke up, keeping an air of calm. “No need to worry.”

Dilan scoffed. “Maybe a small amount of worry. Everyone is safe this time. We were lucky this round.”

There was a murmur of agreement from the adults in the room.

Maggie clapped her hands. “No point in worrying ourselves now. If our hosts say they have it under control then so be it.” She started moving things around the kitchen, probably cleaning up after breakfast. “Now. Let’s get back to preparing for tomorrow, shall we?”

Bella chuckled as she opened the fridge. “Cookies first then. We can decorate when they cool.”

The kids gave a small cheer of excitement and rushed to the older ladies. The three parents began to finish cleaning up the table, speaking in hushed tones about what this could all be about. They didn’t sound convinced by their words. Dilan had a feeling they remembered when this all first started. Of course they would. Some of these children weren’t born yet. The teens might, but the adults… they would remember. While the apprentices were occupied in the castle, how had the rest of the city suffer?

Voices coming closer from down the hall made Dilan turn his attention elsewhere. The other group was coming back from the upper floors. He called to Isa and Ienzo and the three met the others in the hall. “Let’s continue this conversations elsewhere,” Dilan suggested before they could enter the kitchen. 

Ienzo lead the group to the room they all had gathered in the day before, far away from the kitchen and eavesdroppers. Once everyone settled down relatively well, Ienzo was the first to question, “What happened?”

Kairi was the one explain, “Well when we got up to the fifth floor there were a bunch of Heartless wandering around. A few small ones mostly, but then the bigger ones started showing up. Braig and Even had been keeping them mostly contained.” 

“But it wasn’t until you all showed up did it get worse,” Even added with a huff.

Dilan frowned, “How did they get here?”

“Turns out there was a portal on the fifth floor,” Braig answered. 

His frown deepened. A portal? What kind of portal? But that still hardly answered the real question of, “Why did they appear?”

“It might be our fault,” Riku spoke up. “With so many Keyblades in a single spot, it's possible that the Heartless were drawn to this castle.”

“Plus that portal.” Kairi sounded concerned. “It’s strange how it was here this whole time but you didn’t do anything about it.”

Dilan shook his head. “Don’t take this lightly, girl. The portal may have been around but was not active until you all came. The children had spoken of strange voices they heard coming from these halls. Without time to investigate, we did not see any real harm other than keeping the residents out of the area. There is only so much we can do to contain children.”

Aeleus hummed in agreement. “The original plan was to find the source tomorrow while everyone was out of the castle. Unfortunately this attack happened sooner than expected.”

Kairi could only nod in response. “Oh…” 

Sora on the other hand couldn’t keep quiet. “You all still should have said something!”

“And if it was merely a joke by the older kids to spook the younger ones and nothing was wrong? What would this say of us? Children crying wolf. A waste of time.” Dilan shook his head.

Riku spoke up, trying to be the voice of reason. “I understand the want to investigate on your own. However, waiting could have made the situation worse than it was.”

“But your Keyblades were the catalysts,” Even responded rather calmly. “Without them it could have been another week or more before such an attack would have happened.”

There was silence as they all considered each other’s words. Perhaps they were all in the wrong.

Sora huffed and Dilan could picture him crossing his arms as he spoke. “Well we took care of that portal. It shouldn't be a problem anymore.”

“Yes but what if there are others?” Braig asked quietly. “More that are within the castle what we do not know about. We were nearly overrun in the kitchen. I would venture a guess that the closing of one opened another somewhere.”

“But this place is so big,” Kairi commented. “Would it be possible to look through it all?”

“With some time, I could come up with a spell,” Ienzo half muttered to himself.

“But for now, we should look around on our own.” Sora sounded concern. “Someone should also go into town and check there.”

“It would be wise for the Keybladers to split up,” Aeleus said. “If having them all together triggered such a large swarm, then separating them would at least weaken them.”

“A valid point. Let’s decide how to divide ourselves.”

It took some time, but they finally reached an agreement. Lea knew the city like the back of his hand (or so he claimed), Sora had been through enough to know the city well enough, and Kairi wanted to explore the place where she was born. Aeleus, Braig, and Ienzo offered to be guides to the two from Destiny Islands. Sora with Braig and Ienzo took to the North sector and Kairi and Aeleus for the main square and what they could of the South. Lea and Isa agreed for the Eastern section and just outside of the castle here. And this was how Dilan found himself walking the halls with Riku.

The two walked in relative silence. It was mostly for directional purposes and for when Riku wanted to stop. Dilan wasn’t completely sure how the young Keyblade Master was searching for these supposed portals. But he had his suspicions that it had to do with the Keyblade. They moved slowly through the floors, taking more time with each level they higher they went. There were times Dilan had to stop and think on where certain corridors were supposed to lead. With the collapse of some of them, some routes had changed that they had yet to clear out or new ones created because of a wall being knocked down. It may have been a year since they had awakened, but there were still parts of the castle that even they were hesitant to travel to due to unstable work. The higher they went, the more uncertain Dilan was of knowing the layout of the castle. He had done many walkthroughs before but only along paths that Even and Aeleus had declared as safe. Even those that were helping to clean out rooms were only in sections of the castle that were deemed safe enough.

When they reached the eighth floor, Riku broke their silence. “I really do apologize for this inconvenience,” he said. “It would have been fine if we didn’t show up.”

Dilan shrugged as he turned a corner down a hall he knew where another kitchen and about half a dozen guest rooms should be. “Your apologies aren’t needed. If these portals have been laying dormant for some time, perhaps it was best that you all triggered them while you were here.” He paused as Riku opened a door to check inside. “We would not be able to seal it without a Keyblade.”

Riku stifled a sneeze as he closed the door. “Excuse me…. Maybe so.”

They walked on, Riku checking each room in turn. One door wasn’t able to open because all of the furniture had been moved against the door but Dilan didn’t hear anything on the other side and Riku’s blade didn’t sense anything apparently. They moved up to the next floor that was mostly large empty rooms. If Dilan’s memory was right, Lord Ansem was supposed to change this level into a proper ballroom and then have a lift that would bring guests up to here without taking the stairs. A shame that never came to pass.

Riku paced around the room slowly, his arm waving slowly back and forth making the stale air shift and move around them. It smelled like decaying fabrics and dust and Dilan had to think back on just how far they had gotten with actually making this room as the lord of the castle had wanted. 

His thoughts were pushed aside as Riku started up a conversation again. “Sora was telling me how well you fight. Back at Castle Oblivion, I fought Lexaeus but wasn’t able to defeat him on my own.” He paused, the memory probably harsh. Dilan remembered Aeleus grumbling about Riku one night after a few drinks. It seems the time between them had been brief but Aeleus still had admired the boy’s determination to win. “Once we figure out what’s going on with the Heartless, would it be alright to come back and train with you two?”

The sudden question made Dilan turn his head to the Keybarer. “Is there any reason in particular?”

“Master Aqua and Master Ven are still trying to rebuild their own world… and in a way their friendship.” He finished his search around the room and started to walk up to Dilan as he spoke. “It would be too much to ask of them to continue their lessons on a daily basis. I’ve decided to travel to learn on my own. Sora and Kairi join me because they are also interested.” He coughed a little as he came to a stop after accidently hitting something with his foot. “Ow-- But it would be a good challenge to learn from real fighters.”

Dilan gave it some thought. It would be interesting to see how the kids would do under some proper teachings. They were already good on their own from what Dilan could tell. Some structured guidance would help them. “I shall consider it.”

The two stopped at the end of the hall before a set of stairs and Dilan shook his head. “This is as far as we go.”

“Why?”

“As far as I know, the last three levels are still blocked. No one has been able to get up there.” He waved a glove hand to the stairs. “You are welcomed to try, but the rubble is still on the stairway.” 

Riku considered his words words before saying, “I'm just going to take a look.” Dilan said nothing and let him walk up the stairs, his footsteps echoing in the empty room. They stopped not even half way up as the boy came to the pile of rubble. Part of Dilan wondered if the shaking of the castle would have made a difference. After a few moments, Riku came back to him.

“You were right about it being blocked,” he admitted. “But there is something on the other side of it.”

“The other floor?”

“No… well yes. It might be another portal, but farther than the top of the stairs.” He seemed uncertain. “Or it could just be lingering Darkness from years of neglect. It’s hard to tell.”

Dilan said nothing. What was there to say? It was completely possible. Most of the Heartless of this world had spawned from the things they had done here in the basements. With the portal being opened on the fifth floor, they could be anywhere. 

“If the others don't find anything we can try to get up there later,” Riku mused as he started to head back the way they came. “Are there any other places we can check? I remember some place lower than here we can reach.”

Dilan nodded and started back towards the stairs. “There is a lift system we can use to access the lower levels.”

Riku waited for him to catch up before walking again. “Do the guests have access to them?”

“No. They can be unstable at times. Their trajectory paths and programming must have been scrambled during the initial attack on this castle. But there is a single lift that does go directly from this level to the third level. We’ve been lucky enough that they have remained in tact.”

“Can we take one of these lifts to the upper floors?”

Dilan thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. That would be a question for Even or Aeleus. It might take a few stops, and tinkering, but it should be possible to get up there.”

They reached the open area where the lifts were centralized. Several moved back and forth on their own without any real power source. Dilan trailed his hand along the wall, searching for the shift that would activate the one they needed. His fingers out the crack in the wall that lead him to the lever that he simply needed to pass his hand over to make it work. The static sound of the lift starting to work again filled the area and it took a moment for it reach their platform. As soon as they stepped onto it, it started its slow descent. They rode in silence but Dilan could hear Riku’s quiet admiration of how the lifts worked. The lower they went the sweeter the air became. More air circulation from the active people near the ground level. 

The two got off on the third level and went back to the front lobby where they ran into Even and Leon who had just walked through the front doors. The two were talking about the possible rotation of the guests in the castle.

“--two more days at most.” Leon was saying. “But we can let them know tonight they will be able to go back soon.”

Even made a happy noise in the back of his throat. “Good. And what about this new set?”

“Possibly tomorrow… or the day after,” Leon answered. “They would be here for three days max however. It’s just some electric and plumbing we need to fix at that old mansion where Scrooge McDuck lives.”

“Where?”

“The South quarters.”

“That big house? There are people still in there?” Even sounded surprised. Dilan was as well.

Leon hummed. “Once it opens up it should help take some of the burden off of the inn and you guys here.”

“That will be a relief,” Dilan muttered as they passed. But something about Scrooge McDuck living in the late prince’s old home didn’t rub him right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm let's see where this leads to....
> 
> And yes, this is the chapter I've been dying to write that actually made me want to make this AU. It's got bits of everything that I was really interested in minus the feels. Those can and will come later.
> 
> Quick warning that I don't think the next chapter will be any time soon. I've got a lot of things coming up in these next few weeks and I doubt I'll be able to properly write. (I was supposed to put this chapter out on Sunday but here I am on Wednesday finally editing and posting ha...) I'll use the eclipse as my excuse for this chapter... sure why not.
> 
> Also what are your thoughts on me making a couple of spin off chapters with some of the OCs that I have here? Or even just a quick drabble to fill in some blanks? I'm debating on making this into a two-part series where if people are more interesting in the shippy-feely things they can go over there and read up on it. 
> 
> ANYWHO, thanks for reading and baring with me on this.


	7. Over Thinking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dilan does his best not to overthink. But of course he can't.

Several hours of searching but with no luck of finding any sign of another portal in the castle left Dilan and Riku drained. Their conversations dwindled to nothing once more as they picked their way through the maze of the underground. They retired back to the main hall only feeling mildly defeated. If they didn’t find anything that should be a good sign right?

It was just past lunch time, in which Dilan suddenly realized how hungry he was as they climbed the main staircase as the sweet smell of cookies drifted from the kitchen. Excited chatter from the children and the sound of the sink running greeted them as they entered.

“There you are,” Bella said turning off the sink. “There are a couple of boxed lunches made from the leftovers. We were about to run them out to the others in town. You must be starving! Sit! Eat!”

Without much warning, Dilan and Riku were ushered to the table and plates were set out for them by Maggie. Dilan couldn’t help the smile and sigh as they fussed over them. Several offers of cookies were given for him to try by the kids claiming since they made this batch it would be better than that one. They even wanted to impress Riku. They indulged the children, breaking cookies in half to share and trying not to choke on the amount of icing that was on them. Bella eventually rounded them up and shooed them into the other room to let the two of them finish their meal in peace.

“Thank you for the food,” Dilan said as Maggie picked up the plate in front of him. 

She gave him a couple of soft pats on his shoulder. “Any time, dearie. It’s only right for us to help. You are all working so hard out there.”

“It will be a shame when we have to return home,” Bella said from the sink. “Maybe we can come by once a week to feed you all.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Dilan said standing up and pushing his chair in. 

“Oh but we wouldn’t mind, would we Bella?” Maggie asked. Bella hummed out a reply. “There now it’s settled. We’ll make the trip once a week.”

“There’s no need-” Dilan started but stopped once he realized it was going to fall on deaf ears. The two of them would make the effort even if no one was living in the castle. 

They decided to leave to find Even, Dilan wanted to know more about the rotation of guests they would be having. Riku followed along, wanting to double check any of the areas in case they missed something. 

The two made their way to the back end of the castle and then down a flight of stairs. The air became still as they moved to where only a handful of them ever went. But the soft scent of lavender filled the air as they made their way closer to where Even must have burned a candle.

The research labs were actually much lower than this but Even was starting to spend more time in the upper levels. Why, Dilan wasn’t so sure. But he could only guess that he figured if he kept disappearing lower than the guests were allowed to be, someone would eventually follow him down there. 

The first landing was originally planned to open up to a large showing area of completed works but it turned into a small lounge for all of the apprentices in the end. They had a small kitchenette and what used to be plush sofas that they could lounge on. Aeleus and Dilan ended up adding some bungee cords in one corner to have them stretch between breaks which eventually encouraged Even to do the same.

But from what Dilan could understand, the labs were the worst of the destruction. Unsurprising. The other three spent plenty of time cleaning and rearranging when they first woke up, doing what they could to salvage their research. Of course it was all in vain once they realized that Even’s research had been wiped clean.

Dilan grimaced at the memory. It had been a hard couple of first weeks for all of them. 

Sure enough, they found him sitting in the middle of a love seat. And if Dilan knew any better, he was also working on a rather large jigsaw puzzle. He set down a couple of pieces with an annoyed _thunk_ once he realized they didn’t fit anywhere yet. He claimed that working on one helped him think clearer. He apparently was trying to rewrite all of his research down from memory. At this point he had home through about four journals with his writings and findings. But there was still much to remember if the newly sorted library was any indication. 

“I see you brought Riku along. What can I help you with Dilan?” he asked as they approached. There was an air of tension between the two of them.

“I heard Leon earlier. Who are we saying goodbye to?”

“Just a moment…” There was a shuffling of papers as he searched for the right page among his own thoughts, probably on the couch next to him. “Ah… here… looks like Bella and the Haviti family are going back within a day or two. And by the end of the week a few of the teens that go into town to help with the repairs will be in their own homes again…. Hunter, Blanche, and Rain.”

Dilan nodded along, that opened up six rooms, since the family of five agreed to split into two of them. What strange names people had around here… what were parents thinking these days?

“In return we are getting an elderly couple, Scrooge McDuck, and two sets of younger couples that agreed to share a room each.” Even finished with a humph. 

“So we will have two open rooms… Assuming the Keybearers leave on time,” Dilan muttered. He folded his arms in front of him as he thought it through. “If not, we will be a full castle.”

Riku hummed in agreement. “We shall do our best.”

“Which will hopefully change soon,” Even grumbled as he set down another puzzle piece in annoyance. “Too many people in this place. We can't keep hosting such anonymous people around here.”

“But aren't you all helping the city?” Riku interjected. 

“Yes. Of course we are,” came Even’s quick reply. “It is the very least we can do.”

“But,” Dilan added on with a frown. “If such an incident as this morning were to occur again, it wouldn't be safe for them to remain in the castle. We cannot be everywhere at once. Plus it is unknown if the people can protect themselves.”

“And you think it is safe for you all to be here on your own?” the Keyblade Master questioned with a tone of authority. “It didn't look like you all would be able to handle such an attack on your own.”

There was silence as the two ex-apprentices considered their words. To deny would be a lie but to admit would prove them unfit.

Dilan started slowly, “No… it isn't really safe for us to be here.” A pause as he let the words sink in. “However we can't simply leave the castle unattended either. Even with the Restoration Committee checking in on the castle once in awhile, we still don’t know how much of it has changed. Clearly with these portals, as new as they are, there has been many changes that we hadn’t found yet. There is the unexplored upper levels as well.”

“Besides,” Even added on. “With half of the town practically uninhabitable, we can’t impose on them to have them build a brand new living space for us.”

“Don’t… don’t you all have families? In the town that you can live with?” Riku asked.

“No,” came Even’s reply as well as a slap of a puzzle piece hitting the table. But Dilan could hear the venom in his voice.

Riku seemed to understand and left it at that. Instead he asked, “Could you open up more rooms here? There were plenty of empty ones we looked through.”

“Unfortunately it isn't that easy,” Dilan answered. “It comes down to the simple need of beds. There are only so many here in the castle and transportation from the town to here is almost unnecessary.” He took a seat on one of the empty couches as he spoke figuring they were going to be there a while. “We shouldn't have to move new beds to these rooms here when the rest of the town will be rebuilt and ultimately reinhabited. Here, the rooms will eventually vacate. As to what they want to do with this castle afterwards…”

“Will have to come to a unanimous decision between us and the committee,” Even finished. There was a satisfied noise from him as well as a muted click of a puzzle piece hitting the table. Probably put some pieces together.

“Ah…” at least the boy was understanding. “It looks like it would be another year or two before the rest of the town is complete.”

Dilan shrugged. “They appear to be moving along faster. The rotation of people is much shorter than we had anticipated.”

“Yes and with that mansion being fixed it should be even shorter,” Even muttered. 

“I'm assuming it's the one in near the edge of the Southern block. Close to the town square?” Dilan asked as he leaned forward. 

“It has apparently been lived in,” Even answered. “We never bothered checking there when we had done our runs into town.”

Probably for a good reason, Dilan thought. The shame he felt for letting that family down would keep him away from such a place as well. But if the groundwork was as unstable as they had been saying before, then they couldn’t really go over and check on it. Or they took the word of the duck and left it at that.

“They will run into the same issue as we are. The lack of beds for a place that shouldn't be inhabited,” Even mumbled to himself as he shuffled some pages next to him. “There shouldn't be anyone there at all…. The weak foundation is not even three streets over if these maps are correct.”

“An even higher risk of danger if you put it that way,” Riku said solemnly. “I wonder if there is any way to work at restoring the underground tunnels.”

Dilan shrugged. “It could be possible. With enough magic and hands it would be a better solution than just waiting around. If only we didn't have so many set backs…”

They trailed off into their own thoughts. He heard Even move a couple of more pieces on the table. With more people coming in and out of the castle that makes for more nosey people. More chances of people walking into the wrong area or asking questions that were too close to the truth. Or really, questions that none of them were willing to answer just yet. Despite being awake for nearly a year and being in rather close contact with the Restoration Committee, there were things the apprentice still didn't want to talk to the citizens of this town about. Things they didn't want to admit to. Because they knew that as soon as the information was public they would turn on them. They had done too much before to ask for forgiveness. Whomever came up with that saying “it's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission” clearly had never been in their shoes. 

Some would call it close to mass murder.

Dilan doubted that it would go over well with anyone. 

The sound of footsteps on the stairs had him lifting his head to the sound. A heavy set that was steady and sure while a the second set was quick and light following right behind. Aeleus and Kairi joined the three of them in the small lobby area, Kairi humming a soft tune as she approached. 

“Any luck?” Riku asked.

“Nope,” Kairi responded with a sigh in her voice. “Everything is quiet. We ran into Merlin who says hello by the way. But the town is really starting to shape up!”

Dilan nodded along. “Good to hear.” He waited for Aeleus to seat himself next to the coffee table where he was probably looking over Even’s progress with the puzzle. “Aeleus, we have the new list of guests. It includes Scrooge McDuck who is supposed to be living in the old mansion. Did you two see anything while patrolling out there?”

Aeleus hummed as he thought for a moment. “I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. We did manage to look around the compound.”

Kairi sat on the couch next to Dilan and stretched her legs out. “But no dark energy, no portals… Nothing. Well, we did hear Donald yelling about something.” She chuckled at the memory. “I can’t imagine how him and Sora got along.”

“Speaking of Sora, where is he?” Even asked.

“Probably doing what we came here to do in the first place,” Riku said. “He needed to talk to Cid about the Gummi Ship.”

“Something about an upgrade,” Kairi added as she reached over Dilan to the coffee table. “This one goes in that corner.”

“Ah thank you,” Even said. “Well then you should be out of here by the end of the day.”

*

But of course it wasn't going to be easy. Turns out that the gummi ship part they needed didn’t actually fit. They had to wait another day or two for Cid to remold, along with some other modifications, and fit it properly which meant that they needed somewhere to stay in the meantime. Which really meant that they had to stay in the castle for another day. And of course that meant things weren’t going to go to plan. 

That evening was a simple meal as well as preparing for the celebration the next day. With the extra hands it went surprisingly fast. Those that were going to be moving out within the next day or so began their own preparations to return to their new homes. The mood was considerably light compared to that morning. Any tension that had built up was quickly pushed away in favor of getting any work done. No one said anything about what had happened. Dilan couldn’t help but wonder if this is what it was like in the town back then as well? When they had started their experiments. It had started with emptying the prisons, taking people that were already condemned to die, but then they slowly moved out to the rest of the town. People who loved, people who were loved, people who weren’t thought of more than garbage…. It was all to test the strength of the heart. They wanted to learn more, wanted to see just how far they could take it. Just need another reason to take another life down to the labs… but never was the town in fear. No alarms raised. 

At least not to them in the castle.

Back then, Dilan didn’t see anything wrong with it. They had done their experiments within a matter of months, the people they had taken were hardly missed or reported before they had released the Darkness onto the town. 

Perhaps there wasn’t enough time for the fear to sink in.

*

The next morning was filled with excitement. The charge of energy in the air with the anticipation of the party in a matter of hours. It was just as much of a morale booster as predicted. Especially after yesterday. 

Dilan left breakfast with a full stomach and questions buzzing in his ears. Where are the extra tables? Can they pull chairs from the upstairs rooms? Are there any extra blankets? Where can they hide the presents? Was there time to run into town and get more streamers? Dilan had no idea it took so much to put together a party. Anything they had done before was on the simpler side. A cake left in the kitchen along with a note or card for the rest of the castle to enjoy. 

This... this sounded much more elaborate. 

He did what he could given he was being pulled in several different directions at once. One time practically literally when a child and Bella grabbed his hands and started going into separate directions. He managed to stop them both before they got too far and they ended up having a good laugh about it. It was closer to lunch by the time he had a chance to sit down and rest. The rest of the apprentices were split between doing normal duties and helping the town. As for the Keybearers, they helped out mostly with the party prepping, keeping them busy instead of worrying about their ship. As much as Dilan would prefer to have them gone, it was nice to have the extra set of capable hands around the castle.

Despite them staying an extra night, there wasn’t any more disturbances from portals or Heartless or anything they had thought would happen with them staying for one more night. Which was more than some of them were thinking. Dilan had been holding his breath most of the morning, thinking something was going to go wrong. But at most was that the icing for the cake had gotten squished in the fridge among all the other food items.

Dilan was taking his break on a sofa. He leaned his head back and let his eyes close as he soaked up the warm sun that was pouring through the window behind him. Last night wasn’t a good sleeping night for him, as usual. He took these quiet moments as a chance to rest. Another cool gust of wind rocked the window pane signalling another few days before the cold front would pass through. It was thought with the changing of seasons it was when the hardest of times would be since the changing of gods took so long. People’s prayers and wishes would go unanswered for weeks because of the ceremony. Dilan could only hope this was a swift transition. With some luck, the Restoration Committee would be able to get through a good amount of repairs in town before the snow came. And if they didn’t then there would be much overflow into whatever housing facilities were equipped for the snow.

A familiar gait entered the room and sat next to him. The couch sank a bit towards Aeleus but the two sat in a comfortable silence for some time. 

It was Dilan who finally broke the silence. “Is everything running smoothly?” 

Aeleus gave a positive hum. “The castle should be quiet for a couple of hours. Most of our guests are outside starting to celebrate early. The Keybladers have gone into town. Ienzo and Even should be returning shortly.”

A silence rested between them once more. It nearly how it used to be. The two of them giving short updates on who was where and what needed to be done. They hardly needed to speak to know when something needed to be done or how it should be done. Dilan missed those days. They were simple. Easy. There was no threat of Heartless or anything outside the occasional daredevil who tried to sneak in. Perhaps the retrieval assignment to find their prince who would rather be out than in. Once there was that raider group that tried to break into the city but were quickly stopped by their forces.

Simple times.

No memories of a lifetime he didn’t live but knew it was his to keep. Nothing about Heartless and Nobodies and the effects of the Heart. There was no research or experiments that sent their world into ruins...

He rubbed a hand over his face. He shouldn’t be dwelling on the past like this. He needed to move on from those days. They had all changed too much to go back to those days. There was nothing he could do about it except store it away in his memories and move on. He sighed and raised his head and tried to shake the thoughts away.

“You’re thinking too much again,” Aeleus said softly next to him. A hand rested on his knee and squeezed. “There is nothing we can change.”

Dilan turned his head towards his friend. It wasn’t the first time this question had crossed his mind, but what was Aeleus suffering through? Sure Dilan himself had dealt with the loss of a sense, but Aeleus was missing a whole part of his being. The elements they controlled were a part of them. An extension of their mind and bodies at times. How empty did Aeleus feel when the earth didn’t respond to him anymore? It was like losing a friend. How quickly had he accepted this as a new part of his life?

Another squeeze on his knee, almost enough to hurt this time. “Now isn’t the time to overthink. Come. We have things to--”

He was cut off by the sound of a group coming towards the main door. They chatted happily as they pushed open the door. 

“I’m sure they are around here somewhere- oh! Right here! Mr. Aeleus! Mr. Dilan!” Altha lead the group inside. “A few new guests have arrived.”

The two guards had stood in unison as the door opened. They approached the group and Dilan felt Aeleus go rigid next to him. He stopped as Aeleus froze, shock radiating off of him as he must have seen someone in the group. 

“I told you we should have waited,” the garbled voice of the duck, Donald, said. “Or at least waited for Leon.”

“Leon was busy talkin’ to Sora,” Goofy said.

“S’alright,” Scrooge McDuck said walkin in last. “The boys wanted some ice cream. It’s only right to bring it over before it melts.”

“Is… is everything alright?” Altha asked sounding concerned noticing the two guards.

There was a nervous laugh from someone in the middle of the group, familiar yet Dilan couldn’t quite place where he had heard it. “Aha- looks like the cat’s out of of the bag Quinze….”

Aeleus shook himself out of his shock and practically dropped to the floor a second later. Dilan was about to ask why when he heard him whisper, the shock still in his voice, “Prince Lourd…” 

Immediately Dilan dropped to a knee, head bowed down and an arm across his chest to rest against his heart. The bow all too familiar despite it being nearly a decade. He didn’t doubt Aeleus, if he said this man was supposed to be their long-lost prince then so be it. Dilan knew better than to question him. But after so long… now he returned? His heart pounded in his chest as his brain tried to consider the possibilities. Lourd was back, here, safe and sound. But how long had he been alive again? And he hid. Of course they should have guessed something of the sort would happen. The rest of them were here, why would he not be?

“No need for that…” he heard Lourd groan. Yes, that was his voice. It had been so long. Luxord was a different case. “I thought we had gone over this before. You don’t have to kneel.”

“It’s the proper thing to do,” Aeleus rumbled out next to Dilan. He let out a deep breath through his nose and the two of them rose in unison, their old signal still working like a charm to one another. Dilan adjusted his stance at the same time Aeleus was so that he had his hands folded behind his back, perfectly awaiting orders. Something in the back of his mind told him that this really wasn’t needed, they weren’t technically on any sort of clock or even supposed to be responding in such a way. That lifestyle was long gone. But old habits die hard and they stood tall and proud like before. Now the only thing that was missing was their uniforms.

Lourd sighed. “Relax you two...” Instantly the two of them eased their stances. 

Dilan frowned as the shock of the situation was gone. “How long have you been here?”

“About three minutes,” came the reply, which earned a couple of chuckles from the rest of the group.

His frown deepened. “No I mean--”

“I’ve been here on this World for about ten months, one week, and five days if that is what you are asking Dilan,” he snapped. “And before you ask, I wasn’t planning on letting myself be known. Things… things got complicated.” He finished with a sigh.

Yes this was Lourd alright. His inner clock and sarcastic quips were as sharp as ever. But that still didn’t explain why he would just avoid this place. They all knew he didn’t want to take the throne, but the castle was just as much of his home as it was to any of them. Dilan certainly didn’t want to believe that he would return to his old home.

“Looks like you lot have some catching up t’do,” Scrooge interrupted. “We’ll just get out of your way. Come now lassie, let’s go see about that party.”

The rest of the group filed out as they stood in silence, the three- no four of them? Who was this fourth person?

“Should I go with the others?” the mysterious person asked.

“No, Emyd, stay. I think they have some questions for you as well.” 

Emyd… Wait. Demyx?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of shout outs to my old roleplaying buddies for allowing me to borrow their Somebody verisions for this fanfic.
> 
> And sorry for the wait. Life got a bit crazy over the last few months between work and cosplay and this chapter had to be reorganized a couple of times. But I'm hoping to put out another chapter by the end of the month or before mid-December. Since I had some plans for it that had to be pushed back it should be rather quick to get the next chapter out, with some luck. Fingers crossed!


	8. Unexpected Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew tries to get some answers but only come up with half of some.
> 
> Will we ever get the answers that we need? Probably not because the author doesn't know how to plan.

The world felt like it has stopped around Dilan. He was acutely aware of his own rapid heartbeat and his stilled breath. Prince Lourd… was alive?

Plenty of things were rushing through his mind at once. 

First was trying to wrap his head around the fact that their prince was most certainly alive and well as he was standing before them right now.

Second was that he had been in hiding for over ten months. Ten months… That sounded to be around the same time they had also awaken. So it was safe to say they had all woken up at about the same time, but not the same place.

The image of a much younger Lourd came to mind. It must have been one of the first few times they had met. Master Ansem had brought his nephew in for the summer, claiming it would be a good time for him to study and relax from the harsher school environment. Dilan could remember seeing a mop of blond hair on top of a scraggly youth, hardly grown into his body standing behind his uncle, a clearly bored expression on his face. But it was the blue of his eyes that had made Dilan stare at him longer than he probably should have. Something had lit up in them when they had first made eye contact. He always told himself that it was because the youth had never seen someone from the Southern side before.

Next was trying to remember if he ever had seen this Emyd. Standing guard and making rounds in town, they had seen a lot of faces. But nothing came to mind for this Somebody. When Xaldin had first seen Demyx there was no other face that came to mind. In fact, he could almost remember the kid saying he was from a very different World than they were. So how did he get here?

And how did he and Lourd meetup? When for that matter?

Then was Even’s words from yesterday of “two couples” that were coming in. No other singles which meant these two were together. When, how long, why… 

Another passing thought was where had they been staying. The Prince’s old home. But they could be seen.

A short chuckle snapped Dilan back to the current situation. 

“You two are early. I thought you weren’t supposed to be here till tomorrow.” Dilan blinked as Braig approached the group of them. 

“Yeah, well a pipe burst on the third floor and we sort of had to do an emergency evacuation.” Demyx- no, Emyd- had explained with a small laugh. “So we also might be here longer than expected as well.”

Next to him, Aeleus tensed up. He must be thinking the same thing as he was. Dilan relaxed his grip, having realized that his hands had balled up into fists behind his back.

“Braig,” Aeleus said in a controlled tone. “Why didn’t you tell us you knew he was alive?”

“And in the city?” Dilan added on keeping himself as calm as he could.

Dilan could practically hear the shrug. “He asked me not to say anything. And of course we must follow anything asked of us.” He spoke with such sarcasm in his voice that didn’t know if to be impressed or annoyed. Just like before.

“And Emyd, was it?”

“You got it, Xald- No, wait- Dilan! Yeah that’s right! Anyways, I’ve been sort of stranded on this World,” he answered for himself. “I’m, uh- what did it say?- ‘Not allowed to return home.’ And then something about a price.” He sighed. “I dunno really. The last thing I remember as Demyx was fighting off Sora and then I woke up here. Quinze found me and we started living together. That about right?” 

“Correct,” Lourd sighed. He sounded tired and slightly annoyed. “Not that any of this should matter.”

“But it does,” Dilan insisted. The world felt like it was spinning. Everything moving too fast. “We all thought you were permanently dead Lourd. The fact you are alive and with Emyd is… unthinkable.” 

“What about this is so difficult?” Braig asked.

Dilan pointed a finger at him. “You don't get to speak. You knew this whole time.”

“Well… not the whole time exactly-”

“Braig didn't find us for a while,” Emyd butted in. “It was a bit of an accident really. We just sort of… met up.”

There was a pause as Emyd let the sentence trail off. Aeleus and Dilan processing all of this while the other three were lost in their memories.

Aeleus was the first to speak. “You aren't going to elaborate on this?”

“Not unless you want us to,” Lourd said with a sigh.

“That would be preferred-” Dilan had started but stopped as the main doors were opened by Even talking rather quickly to Ienzo.

“You could have warned me sooner,” he was saying.

“You were preoccupied,” Ienzo responded calmly. “We were only behind by a matter of-” The two froze as they spotted the group, clearly taking in the sight of their two now-alive-ex-co-workers. “-minutes…” he finished his sentence breaking the stillness of the room.

Braig let out a low whistle. “The gang’s all here…”

Dilan quietly sighed. So much for taking a break. The sounds of cheers from outside drifted in from the open door. The birthday party was in full swing. It would be a shame for them to miss it, but they currently had more important matters to attend to. “We should move to another room.”

“No. No.” Even took a step closer, a controlled rage seeping into his voice. “Explanations are needed now.”

“Prince Lourd and Emyd showed up with Scrooge McDuck just now,” Aeleus explained. “They have apparently been living in the Prince’s mansion up until a pipe burst today. Now they will be residing in the castle.”

“That's not my name anymor-”

A loud shriek of happiness erupted from the party outside startling all of them.

Dilan shook his head. “Come let’s move-”

“This matter will have to be settled later,” Ienzo said sharply. Dilan turned his head to the youngest of them with a frown. “We must be present to the child’s party. As hosts of the venue, it is only polite to do so.” He paused and Dilan guessed he was locking eyes with everyone there. “We will put aside our questions and differences for the sake of saving face. We need to make a good impression on these people. Do _not_ cause a scene.” Without another word he walked off towards the kitchen to drop off whatever it was they bought in town.

With some reluctance, Dilan had to admit that Ienzo was right to himself. They should be enjoying this day outside with the others. They had promised after all. 

But he was torn. They all needed some answers about this whole situation. He could only imagine the burning questions that Even and Ienzo were holding back and even the ever patient Aeleus was keeping quiet. Too many questions but not enough time. At least not right now. They had longer than a couple of days by the sound of it.

There was shuffling between some of the others in the room as some wave of tension shifted.

Lourd cleared his throat. “Not a word to the party goers then?”

“You’re not joining us?” Dilan asked with a deep frown.

“We would be crashing a party we weren’t invited to,” Lourd explained himself. Next to him Emyd made a sad noise, sounding disappointed they weren’t going to have some fun. “We need to get settled in anyways.”

“I’ll take ya to your room,” Braig said started to walk away from the group.

“See you later then,” Emyd said and the two followed Braig out of the room.

Something about how friendly the three of them were to each other left a sour taste in Dilan’s mouth.

The residence of the castle waited for the trio to be out of ear shot before releasing the breaths they were holding. 

“Troublesome…” Aeleus said and Dilan couldn’t help but to agree.

“How long until the rest of the town finds out?” was Even’s quiet question. 

Dilan sigh, there was a headache waiting to grow. He rubbed his temple as he spoke, “If he was supposedly here for over ten months then he must have already gone into town at least one time. Someone must have seen him. Or one of you at the very least... It is possible that there is some sort of frequent stop they go to where you don't go.” 

“But rumors would have spread…” Aeleus muttered from beside Dilan. “Someone would have said something about the prince returning to town.”

“But he looks... different from the last time anyone here has seen him,” Even said, probably with a finger pressed under his chin as he spoke through his thoughts. “Some facial hair… he had longer hair… the piercings… he looks almost like a different person to them. After all, it has been nearly a decade. That or he’s been sending this Emyd out into town for him.”

Dilan shook his head. “How he has managed to stay out of our sight is a question only he can answer. For now, let us continue as if nothing were amiss. Ienzo seems insistent we make this party a success for the boy.”

*

The afternoon passed rather quickly with the celebration. Cake and other sweets fueled the kids for hours while they danced, played games, and nearly destroyed half of the training ground with some sort of new game where they hit some candy filled balloons with slingshots. 

Despite the food and festivities, Dilan couldn’t keep his mind off of their newest guests. Why would they hide for this long? And in more-or-less plain sight at that. If anyone looked outside of the windows on the fourth floor at the right time, then they could see the house just on the other side of the tree line. They weren’t as far as they thought. The proper path through the town took longer than a few modified leaps over the wall and trees to get here… but why risk it? If they weren’t meant to be found out by the Apprentices then shouldn’t they have moved?

Of course the most frustrating thought was how Braig knew about them. 

Such information shouldn’t have been kept from the rest of them. 

Then again this wouldn’t be the first time he kept something to himself. Braig had always been a little secretive, a little vague on details he wanted to keep to himself when telling stories, but everyone did that. No… there was always something more that he hid from the rest of them. Such as his deal with Xehanort. He was tight lipped about that. Past-Dilan should have seen the signs, should have noticed the changes, but of course didn’t. 

And now here he was stuck with memories from a second life while on a third and he felt cheated out of ten years of living. All because he couldn't sense any danger coming from their friend. 

Both of them. 

Xehanort had been welcomed with open arms once he regained his strength. He took to their rowdy bunch slowly but Braig had basically dragged him out to their late night outings or even just to sit and talk during their long shifts. He mostly listened to their stories, chiming in when he deemed important or necessary. In a matter of months he was joking around with the rest of them. In hindsight, their friendship might have just been to find their weak spots and exploit them later down the line. It was only a matter of time before he turned on them and took their hearts for his own desires. 

A terrible turn of events.

His thoughts returned to Braig as the party wound down and the slices of cake were being distributed. Or rather, his thoughts wandered back to his past life with Braig’s past life and he wasn't sure how to kick himself out of it. It was a bit pathetic on how he kept going back to thinking about the past. He shouldn’t be giving it any sort of thought but the idea of Braig being close to the others and yet so distant to him made him feel… lonely.

It’s not like this wasn’t a new emotion to him. He’d had some sort of void in his life ever since he woke up- he missed his friend and lost years of his life as he told himself. Dilan figured it would feel harsh and cold to wake up and realize so much had happened. 

Xaldin and Xigbar had been close. Very close. They shared a bed for many months as he rationalized it. Possibly years if any of the previous encounters had counted for anything. As much as Xaldin had denied it, the two had indeed been some form of a couple. Things had changed rather quickly and Dilan was now left with scraps to pick up and go on. 

Or he could just toss them away and continue with his own life. Which he much rather prefer. But somehow his own mind betrayed him.

Dilan was torn. He wanted to be friends again with Braig, but he feared the memories of the past would interfere or give him the wrong idea. They hadn’t even had a chance to properly talk about what happened before, or even about his own revival. Dilan himself had been trying not to give into what he was sure to be an emotional relapse and make a fool of himself again. 

Trying to keep his mind on track was more exhausting than expected. By the end of the clean up he just wanted to lay down and sleep until morning and forget about his own doubts about himself. But of course something else popped up.

“Doubling up?”

“Just for the night,” Even sounded annoyed at the concept. “There’s been more complications in town it appears and they are sending us the set tonight rather than later this week.”

Dilan shook his head. The Restoration Committee was usually better at giving them notice on these guests ahead of time. But if it was an emergency…

“It wasn’t anymore Heartless, was it?” Dilan asked following Even to their supply rooms to ensure they had enough for these new guests. 

“No. The rushed message said something about flooding,” Even explained with a huff. He paused and muttered numbers as he counted out blankets. He placed a stack in Dilan’s waiting arms and he faint smell of flowers was shoved in his nose. “Thank you. And Aerith will explain more when she gets here.” Something else was placed on top of the blankets. “Just hold onto those for a moment… I’m searching for more pillows…”

Dilan stifled a sigh and waited a moment as Even opened up another door. “How are we doubling up?” he asked finally, wary of what the answer could be. 

Even paused and for a moment Dilan thought he was merely counting something again. “I’m letting you know from now, the arrangement could change. We did what we could on such short notice and it should only be for one night-”

“Even…”

He took a deep breath and took some of the pillows he had stacked on top of the blankets off. “You’ll be with Braig.”

There was a long moment where neither of them moved. Dilan could tell Even was watching him carefully looking for some sort of reaction out of him. His guess would be that Aeleus had said something at some point and now… and now they didn’t know what he was going to do. It was the most logical choice to stick someone in his room after all, he did have the space. 

Dilan shrugged and started back down the hallway. “As long as it’s just one person,” was all he could say. 

“Now hold on a minute,” Even closed the door to the supply room and hurried after him. He came to a stop directly in front of him which forced Dilan to stop and listen. “You and I both know you haven’t been getting enough sleep. And _why_. Are you _sure_ this is not going to cause any problems?”

Dilan frowned at Even. “I’m positive.”

There was another long, tense moment as Even calculated something in his head. Dilan could swear he heard him go through dozens of possibilities in that silence between them. Finally he sighed, “If you say so.”

*

Aerith showed up soon enough, sounding frazzled and stressed compared to her normal calm nature. Apparently the pipe bursting at the old mansion had set off a chain reaction to the surrounding houses causing more pipes to go and more of the houses being flooded. It was lucky they already had a plan to evacuate for those residents for minor repairs, but this was a rather unfortunate turn of events.

Dinner was a grab-and-go situation based on leftovers from the party. There was more rushing to get rooms and people situated as they slowly trickled in from town. There was always warm tea for those who asked in the kitchen. Which came in particularly handy when several of the younger volunteers came back soaking wet. 

Of course this all meant they didn’t have any time to sit and talk about the sudden appearance of Lourd. Another discussion to push back for another time. There were far too many of those stacking up.

He had been so busy running around and getting rooms ready, that Dilan almost forgot about his roommate for the night. Almost.

The idea of sharing a room with Braig wouldn't have been such an inconvenience before, in fact it had happened a couple of times when they had both come back too inebriated to care where they landed. Of course one had ended up on the floor and the other half hanging off of the bed. But now, it almost seemed like it would be a risk to allow the other so close. Aeleus, Ienzo, and Even were already crammed into a room and all four Keybearers plus Isa were stuck in another one. Both Even and Ienzo had offered to switch with Braig if it meant peace of mind for Dilan, but he had refused. Besides, maybe this would be a good thing for him in the end.

Maybe this would solve his sleeping issues.

Maybe.

Of course when he had agreed to this, he hadn't thought of what Braig would think of his current sleeping situation. He could feel the shock rolling off of him after Dilan explained he wouldn't be sleeping on the bed.

“So… where are you been sleeping?”

“I'll be okay here,” Dilan patted the pile of pillows and blankets that he knew was to his right. He sat on the couch that had been placed in his room after several weeks of searching for one. It was worn in but still had enough support in the right spots. Then again he had only thought it was going to be a temporary thing, but here he was months later still on it. “It's fine.”

Braig made a sound that didn't sound like he was convinced. “I don't know… I can easily sleep on that instead. This is your room...”

“Trust me. This will work out better.”

There was a long minute of silence, probably Braig eyeing the couch. He sighed. “Can I ask why?”

Dilan opened his mouth and closed it trying to get his thoughts in order. There wasn't really a proper way to explain how he needed the couch. It was a solution that they had come up with for his sleepless nights, it had worked out for the better. But of course this wouldn't be a satisfying answer for the curious Braig. “The bed doesn't feel right.” He didn’t wait for the other to try and argue back, so he unfolded the blanket and positioned himself with the back of the couch to his left.

When he didn't explain further Braig sighed again and peel the covers back. “Alright…” Dilan heard him shuffling under the thin sheet and blanket, probably trying to find a spot on the unused mattress. When he finally settled down. Dilan nodded to himself.

The blanket bunched up on his side but he didn’t bother to fix it. Dilan shuffled around a little bit more till he fit his long body within the length of the couch. His head tilted slightly towards the back to give him a mental anchor point. With his knees slightly bent and his back flat on the cushions beneath him, Dilan would normally find it easy to drift off. But with a guest in the room tonight, he couldn’t help but think about every little thing that could go wrong.

He focused on his own breathing, taking deep inhales and long exhales, trying to still his racing mind and heart. He realized that he was timing himself with Braig’s own breaths and decided to hold out for a beat longer to pull him off of the same pattern. Keeping his mind blank, he could only hope that his dreams gave him a peaceful night for once.

.::.

He knew this dream. He had been here before. Done something here before. 

Or something happened to him.

His chest hurt. He could feel warm blood soaking through his gloves. His blood. 

Was it just his? Most of it was. But he knew there was someone else’s. 

He needed to leave.  
Move. 

Something… no someone… was following him.

The gash across his chest spewed more and he was probably leaving a trail. He would be followed.

Maybe he could make it.

Pain scorched across his back causing him to cry out. They had found him.

Then nothing.  
No.  
Wait.  
Something.

It was the sensation of falling. The wind sailing past his ears, his hair whipping at his face, the whipping of his clothes. But what hurt the most was his chest. His insides felt like they were floating inside of him trying to realign but couldn’t with gravity seeming to pull him in every direction. He was falling long and fast. It felt like something was pushing his chest on his chest. It pushed him faster and faster. Claws digging into his chest trying to push through his flesh and to his insides.  
Still falling.

How far was he going?

And then he hit the floor.

.::.

He woke up gasping and clutching at his chest. Heartbeat pounded in his ears as he tried to wake up and come to his senses. It wasn’t until he felt the hand on his shoulder did he realize that Braig was at his side. 

“Dilan. Dilan. Are you alright?” His hand gently grasped his shoulder and was squeezing. Grounding him. 

Dilan brought up a shaking hand to the one on his shoulder and gave it a weak squeeze. Yes it was real. “I’m fine…” he whispered trying to gain some control over himself. There was more to it wasn’t there? It wasn’t just him falling. There was more to that dream. More of a reason for him to be waking up in this cold sweat. Something he was missing. “I’m fine.”

Braig shifted next to him, standing up and gently patting his shoulder as Dilan sat up on the couch and rubbed his hands over his face. 

No, he wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight. 

Carefully, he stood up and moved out of Braig’s way and towards the connecting bathroom. A familiar path and familiar motions. His hand fell onto the sink faucet and turned it on, cupping his other hand under the cold running water and taking a long sip. He turned it off and the last remaining bits of his dream disappeared from his mind like the water down the drain. He took a couple of deep breaths before reaching for the towel that hung next to the door and wiped off his hand. 

Reentering the room, he could sense Braig still standing by the couch watching him. “Sorry,” was all he could say as he headed to the door. 

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll just be out of your way and you can sleep some more-”

“You can’t just go, it’s the middle of the night.” He sounded genuinely concerned and surprised. 

Dilan shook his head. “This isn’t anything I haven’t done before.”

“You need your rest.” There was a creak from the couch as he sat on it. He hit the pillow with a hard smack. “Come on.”

Was he really suggesting that they sleep on the couch together? It was just enough space for him there’s no way they would both fit. Besides it wouldn’t be fair to wake him up again like this. “I'll be fine-”

“No you won't. Now.” he patted the space next to him. “Lay down.”

Dilan hesitated still. There was another insistent pat on the cushions and he slowly sank down next to him. He tilted himself so that his head was on Braig’s lap and pulled the blanket around his hands tight and up to his chin. Braig shifted slightly getting into a more comfortable position and then prompting Dilan to lift his head a little so he could get a blanket over his legs as well. His hand couldn't seem to find a good spot anywhere so he rested it on Dilan’s head, his thumb rubbing calming, lazy circles into his hair. 

Dilan closed his eyes and did his best to calm his racing heart. It wasn't from the dream anymore, but rather from the intimate memory he had of this similar situation. It wasn't his memory. Not by a long shot. But the emotions that bubbled up in his chest made him release a sound that was close to a whine or whimper. 

Braig made a quiet shushing noise meant to calm him. He was far too gentle for Dilan to think he wasn't used to doing this. 

“So close…. And still… so far..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for that horrible cliffhanger in that last chapter. Seriously, it was terrible and I swore to myself years ago that I would never do something like that again and I did. 
> 
> Thanks for reading up till now. And sorry for the wait. It's been a crazy couple of months at work and I thought I was only going to have a short chapter for this one but it sort of kept going and I'm sorry for the wait. I'm going to try to have something for the one year anniverary of this fic next month but we shall see how the universe decides to treat me. 
> 
> Happy New Year everyone!


	9. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dilan recounts memories he wasn't didn't want to remember that Braig can't.
> 
> This chapter is pretty Xal/Xig heavy but nothing too serious I think. My apologies if you don't like the ship but I'm just trying to establish some background.

The following morning came all to soon it felt. Dilan woke from his heavy sleep feeling more stiff than usual. Stiff, but rested. It felt like it had been weeks since the last time he felt this good after a night’s sleep. Thoughts still cloudy and slow, he tried to recall what could be different this morning than the others. And then it hit him. He was still on Braig’s lap. 

He inhaled sharply as he realized it and the smell of morning mist before a day of rain filled his nose. It was subtle, people’s scents. They were always there but Dilan never realized it till now. The familiar scent sent him through a cycle of memories that he swore he would try his hardest to forget. He felt the bile rising in his throat and he cringed as he swallowed it back down.

Without warning, Braig’s hand gently pat his head. “You're fine…” he mumbled his voice still thick with sleep. Dilan froze. Had he been doing that all night?

No this was ridiculous, he needed to get up and start the day. Memories be damned. Dilan shifted and sat up, his back and arms popping as he moved. Rubbing at his eyes he mumbled an apology. “Thanks… but you didn’t need to do this.” Dilan stood up and stretched. 

Braig made a noise behind him, probably now waking up fully. There was a long pause as he registered Dilan’s words and yawned. “No worries…. You need sleep. And that's one of the better ways to get it done.” It sounded like he spoke from experience. 

He snorted and made his way to the bathroom, shaking out his legs as he went. “I've managed before. I can manage again.” 

He could feel Braig frowning behind him. 

Something pinged in his heart, telling him he should have stayed a bit longer. He turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face to chase the thought away. It's only because of memories that he would even think of that. They wouldn’t do anything of the sort before in their old life. Why would they do it now?

He finished up in the bathroom, keeping an ear out for what Braig was doing. He heard him move between the bed and couch several times as well as the moving of sheets. By the time Dilan was done, Braig quietly excused himself to the bathroom and the door closed behind him. Dilan set himself to clean up his couch but only found folded sheets and a neatly placed pillow instead. He turned his head slightly to the bathroom where the sink was running, wondering if Braig was going to be some time or not. 

He decided to change anyways, figuring he would need to do it eventually. Dilan took his time usually getting out his clothes making sure they felt right for the day, but he pulled at random instead this morning. Muscle memory had him pulling from the proper drawers he had set up himself since half of his thoughts were on his guest in the room next door. He carefully pulled on pants and his shirt and was just getting on a pair of socks when Braig emerged from the bathroom. 

There was a long silence as the two of them were lost in their own thoughts, trying to start a conversation. Dilan wondered what was going on inside of the other’s head. He knew his own thoughts went back to what he had woken up to. He figured that he had dreamt it all in his haze, he had had similar dreams. But waking up to actually having someone -Braig at that- there with him… it was strange.

He broke the silence, unable to withstand his own thoughts. “Thank you for cleaning.” He said with a wave of his hand to the couch he sat on. “You didn’t have to.”

“Not a problem,” Braig said moving to a corner of the room. The sound of a zipper and then the rustle of clothes indicated he was searching for a change of clothes. Another round of silence followed.

Dilan took this time to shuffle over to the door where he knew his boots would be. His foot nudged one of them and he picked them up and returned to his spot on the couch to put them on. 

There was a charge in the air, the tension slowly building between them. He could hear Braig taking a breath to say something but then losing his nerve before the words could pass his lips. It didn’t seem like him. Usually the man would just speak his mind and then think of the consequences later. Then again, he wasn’t that rash. He could think things through. Look at all the possible outcomes and see how he could get out of them within a minute. He had been an apprentice like the rest of them. Braig was smart and he knew it. Maybe it was Dilan that held his tongue.

With his boots finally on, Dilan didn’t see the need to stay in the room anymore. He stood up with a gentle pat on his pillows to ensure they were still in the right spot and walked to the door.

“No need to lock the door when you leave,” he said to the other who stiffened at his words. “I’m heading to the kitchen for some food.”

“Dilan. Wait.” 

Ah- there it was. His hand paused on the door knob and he turned his head back a little to show he was listening. Braig took a deep breath and said, “Can we try to talk this out?”

Of course he wanted to now. Would the perfect chance ever come again? He deserved the right to know. It was only fair. Dilan took a deep breath through his nose. He knew this was going to happen eventually. In truth, he might ever be ready for this. His hand dropped to his side as he answered quietly, “What do you want to know?”

Braig seemed to sigh in relief. “I want to know about them. I want to understand why the thought of you makes me hurt. But I know it isn't just you.” 

“It… It isn't us, but I can still explain.” A slight pause as he swallowed heavily. “Xaldin and Xigbar… They were a couple. In a sense of the word at least. They had some sort of intimate relationship despite the lack of hearts. Something to ease the physical need at first. And then it became… more. Something that shouldn't have happened to beings without emotions. Or so Xaldin had thought.” 

It hurt to say but he knew he needed to. 

\---

Memory was always a tricky thing. It can be skewed and warped from the last time one recalls it. And that's all that memory was. A person recalling the last time they thought of the scene. After a while, it all turns into mush and blends with other memories.

But the memories of a past life… of a life he hadn't lived himself, Dilan wasn't even sure if he could trust his own. 

What he was certain of was that whatever it was, it didn't happen overnight. It wasn't as if the two had gotten together and they simply agreed to have a relationship. No, it was much more complicated than that.

Xaldin had repressed the memories of Dilan’s heartbreak just as he had done his whole life. A bitter taste in his mouth whenever he thought of it. But the rotten feeling still lingered whenever he visited a world and saw the couples. Perhaps Dilan could blame himself on that, Xaldin could only feel the resentment he had felt whenever he had seen happy couples. But that was a thought for another time. 

The incident that had brought Xaldin and Xigbar closer was not a happy one. In fact, Xaldin had nearly vanished from existence because of one careless mistake. Bed ridden by orders of Vexen and Xemnas, Xaldin had no choice but to sit and wait for a great deal of his insides to fix themselves. Sure with the help of potions and cure spells it only took two weeks, but it was still two weeks of nothing. 

This is where Xigbar had stepped in. The man had come to make sure that the Lancer was healing according to plan. The results of a Behemoth stomping on him should have killed him. Of course this made for the perfect chance for Xigbar to boast about coming to the Lancer’s rescue and saving his life. He always joked about collecting a debt. 

It was months later when the chance finally came around. And it wasn't anything more than a kiss. It was simple, quick, more teeth than lips in the haste it was given. But the surprised look on Xigbar’s face was enough to satisfy Xaldin for quite some time. 

It was another three months until they kissed again. This time full of booze and food, the two freely kissed each other in the quiet space they had formed. A vacation day. Rare and valuable. In the silence of a bar on the outskirts of a near abandoned city as the Heartless slowly pressed in from the surrounding lands. 

It was another few months before they shared a bed for the night together. Tossing and turning and tumbling over each other, it wasn't as romantic as some would say. The stress of new members and the increase of missions had left Xaldin in the need of some form of stress relief. That wasn’t battle. Xigbar had been all too eager and willing. Their time together was short. Xaldin merely wanting the release and to forget about the newest ninth member of their little organization. And Xigbar had claimed it was nothing more than helping a friend.

With much reluctance, Xaldin agreed that they should meet when either had the need again. He kept saying it was only a one time thing. He kept fooling himself into thinking it would be only once more.

But of course he was wrong.

First it was monthly. Then weekly. And then daily. The two would meet, talk, and then have sex. A good amount of time there was food at some point. It was almost routine. For overnight missions they had together they kept it professional. 

There was a silent understanding between them that it wasn't necessarily a need but more of a want. Xaldin had blamed it on the years if not reacting to the desire and it had just built up. Now that he had some sort of outlet, he was letting it out of his system. Secretly he hated the idea of having the excuse. But whatever made the most sense to him, he would accept.

He had no explanation for Xigbar.

He didn't want to make some reason and stick to it.

His loyalty was to the Organization and their purpose of regaining hearts for themselves. Xaldin would never compromise his chances of remaining a heart for the sake of another. Not even Xigbar.

Not even after he realized they had feelings for each other. Because, of course, Xaldin didn't believe it was possible. 

The realization had hit him one day. Missions had been finished for the day and the two had decided for a sparring match to use up their extra energy. After all, recon was such a waste of time for beings with their power. They sparred in one of the many training rooms they had, or rather large empty spaces that no one cared if it got destroyed. They managed to find one with minimal damage from another training session and began. 

Weapons drawn and their powers flowing freely, the two faced off in an all-too-familiar dance. They had so many years of training together that they were starting to become predictable. But they enjoyed a good fight. This time wasn’t any different from the others. They fought at a distance, Xaldin working on his range attacks and going in for closer ones when he could. There was a spark in Xigbar’s eye, he could see it as he managed to get in close before dodging an arrow gun to the face. Back in and out, they warped and skidded around each other with the occasional clash in midair.

As the rush started to fade, Xaldin could see the look clearly in Xigbar’s eye. A look of respect and a bit of a turn-on from their fight. The grin that pulled just right on his scared cheek. He loved that look. He loved him.

The shock that ran through him nearly had him collapse on the floor as he took a heavy hit. Xigbar pulled back and gave him some space, a look of worry in his eye. But Xaldin could only stare at him. No, this shouldn’t be possible. The rapid beating of his heart was because of the fight, not because of his opponent. There was no way.

They didn’t have Hearts.

They shouldn’t be able to feel.

But he did.

He ran.

It was a day later before he could admit it again to himself and then to Xigbar’s face. But the Freeshooter just laughed it off and said, “It took you long enough.”

Over the next few months, possibly a year, they grew closer to one another. If it was possible. Their daily meetings turned more towards talking and simply enjoying another’s company rather than the physical touch. Something about it just seemed right, though Xaldin would never be able to fully admit that what he was feeling was actually love. Not real love as beings with hearts have, but rather the echoes of what love had felt like to Dilan back when he did love. It felt too good to be true.

And then it changed. 

There was a shift. At first Xaldin hadn't realized it, but he caught on soon enough. Xigbar was quiet, lost in thought, and distant. He seemed to struggle with something inside of himself. Xaldin didn't say anything, opting for the Freeshooter to fight whatever sort of inner demons he had. It wasn't his place after all.

The question had come suddenly one day, seemingly out of the blue. Xaldin had been making breakfast in one of the many kitchen the Castle That Never Was had.

“Do you think this is worth it?”

Xaldin looked over at Xigbar and his forgotten coffee mug. The man wasn't focused on him or anything in particular. His gaze was distant as if seeing another world. 

“Do you think I’m worth it?”

The question startled Xaldin. “Worth what?” He moved closer a little so he could get a better look at the other. 

Xigbar blinked and slowly came back to his senses a he turned that golden eye up to Xaldin. “Anything. Risking being here with you like this. Your time. Your affection.”

Xaldin couldn't process the question. It was loaded with many hidden possibilities of what it could mean. 

“Of course,” he rumbled finally. “You've made me believe in the impossible again. Why wouldn’t any of this be worth it?”

There was silence between the two of them. Xigbar stared at Xaldin from across the small kitchen but seemed to be looking at something far beyond him again. 

A few months later they stopped seeing one another. Xigbar cutting off their… relationship; seeming rather hesitant to end it but Xaldin still agreed to. It wasn’t a clean cut, they had moments of relapse and weakness but agreed the next morning to not see each other again many times. Each one shorter and farther from the last.

Finally they ended it for good. Xaldin did his best to not let it affect him. But of course it did. He’d never admit it, but it did.

And then Roxas came.

The last time Xaldin had seen Xigbar was in passing. The latest meeting of their shrinking group had started and ended with the news of Demyx’s defeat. Their respective paths had them meeting in a hallway, an eerie quiet had descended over the castle. Over half of their members gone and perished because of the Keyblade. They were short on time to finish their mission as Xaldin thought.

They paused just before passing each other and stared at one another. There was a tired look in Xigbar’s eye as if the death of the Nocturne had affected him more than he let on. In retrospect, it might have. 

The two couldn’t seem to find the words to say. For Xaldin, the wounds had finally begun to heal of their little “break up” as they refused to call it. The silence between them spoke the volumes they couldn’t say out loud. One of the few things they had kept from when they were whole was being able to communicate without words. Lexaeus and Xaldin had a similar connection from Aeleus and Dilan. Xaldin could see what Xigbar wanted to say, but never sure if that was what he really wanted to express.

Xaldin could see the worry in Xigbar’s face as he stared up at him and something inside had said to embrace him one last time. He ignored it, regrettably. Instead, he took a step forward and clapped him on the shoulder. “Watch out for yourself,” he said and let his hand fall away as he kept walking. He was sure Xigbar turned to say something but he had turned the corner and left before he could utter a word. 

The next morning he was off to Beast’s Castle for the final time.

The last time Dilan saw Xigbar was less than a month after Aeleus, Ienzo, and Lea had rewakened. Even and himself had taken another week to come to. The answers as to why were still unclear.

As soon as the door to his room closed, he heard it. The sound of another in the room. The scent far more familiar than it should have been. It smelled like the forest after a rainstorm, the leaves and dirt drinking in the freshwater, and with the underlying smell of rot somewhere in the distance. It was like the breath was taken out from him and he closed his eyes to steady himself.

But the pull of the trigger never came. Only a soft voice with the hint of a smile. “So this is where you’ve been.”

Dilan let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. No, he wasn’t about to die here. Keeping his back to the intruder, he clenched and unclenched his fits. “Have you been looking for me?” he asked, his voice much steadier than he felt.

“I’ve at least been keeping an eye out for you,” came the reply with a chuckle at his own joke. “You are surprisingly hard to find.”

He bit the inside of his cheek to keep back a retort. He took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m not trying to hide. What do you want Xigbar?”

There was a step forward from the other and Dilan clenched his fists again. Bracing himself for something. Anything. Xigbar must have seen it since he stopped and huffed out a single laugh. “Come on, Dilan. No need to be so tense. Just here to invite you to the group.”

“Group?”

“Yeah. Turns out we have one open space left and I told the Old Coot I knew just the guy.” He was grinning. Dilan could hear it in his voice. He could see the grin in his memory, it was wide and stunning. It was the kind of grin he had whenever he knew he had won. It would pull just at the scar enough to make it seem less threatening. Xaldin had loved it. He probably extended his hand as he spoke again. “So what do ya say?”

Dilan closed his eyes and bowed his head. What sort of question was this? He was basically being asked to die? Again? Give his life over to some sort of madman? He actually just left a meeting that gave a quick rundown on where Lea had gone…. They knew so much more than they should have. The reveal of what would have happened to them was a shock. 

And yet they all had a feeling.

“I don’t have all day. Are you coming or not?” He’d been trapped in his thoughts a little too long. Xigbar was getting impatient. 

Dilan took a deep breath and shook his head. “I can’t help you.”

Xigbar made a noise, clearly not expecting that as an answer. “Excuse me?”

“You need to leave,” he said, his voice stronger than his heart at that moment. 

“Dammit Dilan look at me!”

“... I can’t…”

“Don’t give me that!” Footsteps and then a hand on his shoulder forcing him to turn around. Just as quickly as the anger in the room had risen it was gone. There was silence. 

Dilan could feel Xigbar staring at him. He could picture the golden eye staring at him, searching his face for some sort of real explanation and finding none. As the silence stretched on, Dilan could feel a small smile tugging on his lips. It was a little funny when he thought of it. They would always be at odds. 

“How…”

“This was my price to pay, Xigbar.” He said it with much more strength in his voice than he felt in his heart. “This is what Xaldin left me with. Memories and a hefty price to pay.” He gave a hollow chuckle before stepping back and carefully sitting on the bed behind him. “He’s bury in me… I can just… barely feel him. He wants to apologize but can’t.”

His fists curled and uncurled in his lap. “You can’t bring him back. He knows that. He’s going to fade soon. And I’ll be on my own, like before. As always.” He paused trying to find the right words. “It’s like me trying to ask you to be Braig. It won’t happen. My friend was lost to Xehanort a long time ago and I didn’t know it. I can’t do anything about it now. Asking you to pretend to be Braig would be wrong. Xaldin’s memories aren’t my own. They aren’t mine to keep. I’m not Xaldin.”

Xigbar stepped closer and Dilan tilted his head up towards him. A gloved hand gently caressed the side of his face and wiped away a single tear that had slipped out of the corner of his eye. He hadn’t even noticed it. “Din…” Xigbar’s voice was soft, the anger from before gone. What was going through his mind right now? It would be easy to just end him. A single shot from his arrow gun would make this end. But he couldn’t kill the memory of the man that he loved so easily could he?

Something inside of Dilan ached. It was nearly painful how much he missed this sort of touch. An intimate touch. His body wanting to relax into the warmth of the hand, he felt his eyes close. Lips touched his forehead so lightly Dilan could excuse it for a dream later. But the kiss on his lips he couldn’t. 

It was a hesitant touch, almost as if he wasn’t sure if he should, but slowly grew with confidence. One of them sighed, Dilan couldn't say which one. For all he knew this could be the last thing he felt. 

There was something beyond a simple kiss. A need, a longing, a memory that ached and burned within him that made him want this to last longer than it did. Dilan pushed slightly into the kiss, wanting more. Something inside him knew this would be the last time they would do this. It would be better to enjoy this tender moment before…

Their lips broke apart. Dilan being the one to turn his head away first. No, he shouldn't indulge like this. This wasn't his kiss to have. Heat lingered between them as Xigbar stepped back and away. The cold air of the room suddenly feeling harsh against his skin. He could feel himself closing his barriers again. Raising the walls within his mind to keep the emotions from flooding out.

“I'll come back to you.”

Across the room, the sound of a portal opening rang in the silence. “You will always be missed,” Dilan whispered.

Light steps away from him and then the portal started to close slowly. He could swear that he heard, “And you will always be loved.”

The kiss wasn't for him though. It was never meant for him. It was a last resort for Xigbar. A proper and final goodbye of sorts. It still left a hole in his heart.

In the silence of the empty room he answered, “Unlikely.”

\---

“And now?” The question brought him back to the room. Braig had been quiet through it all. He had listened patiently knowing that if he had distracted him the moment would be lost. For that, Dilan was thankful. 

“And now…” Dilan took a shaky, deep breath. He pushed himself off the door frame he had been leaning on as he told his tale. “And now we are a couple of fools who think something like this could work between us.”

“Is… is that what you think?”

Dilan blinked. Had he heard that right? “Huh?” 

“Did you think something could happen between us in this life?” He sounded as if he was in disbelief. His tone wasn’t harsh, but rather soft and out of pity. “Dilan, I see you as a friend. Nothing more. I don't want to go about this life wondering why my heart seems to break when I see you on your own without a reason.”

“Braig-”

“Wait let me finish. I don't want you to think that just because Xaldin and Xigbar had some type of relationship that we need to carry it on. Because I don't agree with it. We were friend Dil. I just want to be friends again.” 

It felt like those words had punched a hole through his heart. They shouldn't have stung. They should have been a relief to hear but somehow disappointment creeped into his bones and settled. He suddenly felt cold all over. But Dilan knew better than to let it bother him. He swallowed heavily and nodded. “Good.”

As he turned and opened the door he could feel the weight in his heart grow. No that wasn't how he wanted that to end. But he would just have to bottle it all up and move on anyways. As always. He fell back into the niche he had known so well of ignoring such emotions or needs. 

The cold hands of desire pulled at him, his body aching for a loving touch rather than just the brotherly assurance of Aeleus’ hand on his arm. He needed something more. Actually no. He didn't need anything else. He would be fine. He's done it before and this was nothing new. It was only the fresh memories that burned in the back of his mind and heart of a rather abrupt end that was setting him off. He could calm the storm within him. 

Dilan was better than this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Xal/Xig day. 
> 
> Once again, sorry again if this was too heavy on the shippyness. I personally love this ship. I can promise this is the last time a chapter is going to be this ship heavy.
> 
> And it's been a while huh? A lot happened between work and finshing a cosplay for a con. I figured I would post this chapter on the ship day because why not. Ha.... Anywho, thanks for reading and sticking around!


	10. New Old Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dilan doesn't get a chance to breath before he has to carry on with his day. Something has shifted within the castle residents.

The two moved down to breakfast without a word. Braig trailing not too far behind him after he had left. The revelations of their conversation still spinning in their heads. Gods there wasn’t enough time to even think about it. He could hear Braig behind him wanting to say something more about it but still unable to come up with the words.

Dilan and Braig entered the kitchen without saying a word to each other as a bustling Maggie and Bella prepared a final breakfast between the two. They chatted about all of the things they will do for the castle and each other once they get settled into their own places. There was happy chatter from the children about the party the day before. The adults moving around the kitchen as well getting plates and silverware for hungry mouths and answering repeating questions from the kids. Those that usually went out into town to help with the rebuilding process were packing lunches and discussing where they would be for the day. The smell of coffee lingered in the air mixing with bacon and eggs. Aeleus and Ienzo stood quietly in their usual spots by the end of the counter and observed the ongoings in quiet tones. 

“Ah there you are,” Even’s voice cut through the din and Dilan turned his head to him. “I was about to come looking for you. We have plenty to go through today.”

Dilan internally groaned. “At least let me have some coffee first Even,” he grumbled. The next thing he knew someone had grabbed his hand and placed a warm cup of coffee in it. 

“Let me know if it needs to be reheated,” Bella said with a pat on his wrist.

Of course she would be ready with this. In truth, he was going to miss her when she left the castle later today. He took a sip and shook his head at her. It was a little cold, but not piping hot, with a little bit of creamer and a single scoop of sugar mixed in. Just about right. A little warmer would be better, but not needed.

She shuffled away and Dilan leaned against the counter next to Aeleus who hummed at his arrival. He listened to Braig greet Quinze and Emyd then step around a pair of running children to get to the coffee pot. A gentle nudge from Aeleus’ elbow made him turn his attention to him. 

“Did you sleep well?” Ienzo asked for the two of them.

Dilan shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. He could practically hear him arching his eyebrow at him. He was probably hoping for more of an answer than that. They didn’t need to know about anything they discussed or how he managed to get some rest last night.

Aeleus took a breath to say something but Even cut him off. “Are you awake enough yet or shall I wait until you’ve had a full breakfast as well?”

He suppressed a sigh while taking a sip of coffee. “Go ahead.”

There was a crinkling of paper and Even started listing off everything that needed to be done for the day. With the changing of residents, there were sheets and towels to be washed, rooms to be cleared out, and basic inspections to be made before the next group could move into the rooms. Naturally everyone was willing to lend a hand for the switch so in theory it would run smoothly. The children were taking a day off from their lessons to aid with the cleaning (a few small tasks) and the workers for town would be most likely coming back early today. Leon had requested they asked if anyone was familiar with water or ground magic to go down and help with repairs so to move things along faster if possible. Chances were slim but Ienzo offered to go along with them to see if he could help with anything. Assuming everything went smoothly and there was still time and daylight leftover, Even wanted to start cleaning out the last hallway on the third floor as well. Considering the Keybladers had stayed an extra night, they would be helping between the city and the castle. In theory things would be done faster than usual with the extra sets of hands as well.

By the time Even was done giving them his list, Dilan was done with his coffee and silently wishing for another cup. Honestly these morning meetings were more for Even’s sake to ensure he hadn’t forgotten anything before addressing anyone else in the castle. 

“Sounds good,” Ienzo said into his mug as Even finishes. “I’ll talk with Leon and Aerith when I get into town for any other changes that could occur.”

Beside him Aeleus nodded with a hum of approval.

“We need to get the Keybladers together before they go,” Dilan said remembering the other day. “Riku had said he sensed something from one of the upper floors.” 

“Something?” Ienzo echoed. “As in…”

“Potential Darkness,” he clarified in a low voice. “They will need access to the higher floors to check.”

He sensed the unease from the three others. “That will take some time,” Aeleus said slowly. “Especially if they require the lifts.”

Dilan merely nodded and set his mug on the counter behind him and folded his arms in front of him. “It would be wise to use what limited time they have here to good use.”

“Agreed,” Even said more than likely touching his chin, thinking of ways to rearrange his schedules. “We can pull them once they show themselves.”

“I’ll take them,” Aeleus volunteered. 

The rest agreed. Aeleus would be able to configure any of the lifts if needed and if Even was leading the charge throughout the rest of the castle, this would be best. With that in mind, they broke their small group to address the rest of the castle residents. Assignments were given to those that would stay and help around here while the rest departed for town. The few that were set to leave for the day went to finish packing up the last of their things, in theory they would be departing around lunch time if things went smoothly in town. Ienzo said he would send word as soon as he knew what the timeline was.

With assignments given and questions answered, their little breakfast meeting finished and Aeleus left to find the Keybladers. Even and Dilan followed Ienzo to the door behind the construction crew to ensure all was going to go well. 

As Dilan stepped outside he took in a deep breath. A cool breeze blew in from the west, bringing the threat of rain with it. “We should bring in the laundry,” he said to Even.

He could feel Even raising his eyebrow at him. “Why?”

“Because it’s going to rain.”

“Are you certain this time?” He didn’t sound convinced.

“Yup! There’s some rain coming,” Emyd had walked up behind them. Dilan could practically feel the smile coming off of him. “It’s not much, and you’ve got a few hours, but the real storm will be over night.”

Dilan raised an eyebrow and Even sputtered. “How-”

“Water’s my thing, remember? And before you ask, no, I didn’t flood half the town.” Emyd laughed, light and carefree. “That really is a plumbing issue.”

“And you aren’t of any help?” Dilan asked before Even could.

“Unfortunately not.” He sighed, and if Dilan knew him any better he would say he was scratching the back of his head. “You see… the thing is… I can’t control water anymore but I can still sense it. If that makes any sense.”

Dilan nodded. It was fairly close to how he felt with the natural wind.

“Intriguing…” Even muttered mostly to himself. “Is there any chance of you willing to sit and describe this some more?”

Emyd sounded hesitant. “Uhh… I guess? I don’t really know how to, uh, describe it really. It’s more like a feeling?” he tried.

The answer didn’t satisfy Even, but he decided to give their guest a mercy and dropped the subject. 

The three of them headed down to the small courtyard with baskets where several drying lines had been set up. Yuffie had spent the better part of an afternoon refining her aim with various sharp weapons and string. From what Dilan had heard of it, there was plenty of cursing and clattering of metal on stone. Finally everything had been set up according to her and Aerith’s liking. 

Throughout the day, various linens were hung up to air dry after being washed, some taking longer than others. Sometimes curtains or rugs were brought out just to be aired out and dusted if they were discovered in a recovered room. But these were mostly for laundry purposes. 

Even and Dilan started on one end of the courtyard and Emyd on the other. A gentle breeze blew through every few minutes, a small reminder of the rain to come and cooling them from the humidity. 

The two of them had started with some rugs that had been brought down to air out a bit (as requested by Maggie) and then started on the sheets that had been washed the previous day. Dilan could hear Emyd snapping out pillowcases not too far away as he felt around for the pin that was keeping the sheets on the line. The young man was humming a tune to himself as he settled into a rhythm of pulling down the fabric, snapping, folding, and finally placing them in the basket. Demyx did always have a song running through his head.

He took a couple of steps back to keep it from touching the floor. The sheet pulled taught and Dilan waited for Even to be ready on his side. They managed to get through four sets before Even voices his complaints.

“If they can invent a machine to wash and dry, why can’t they make a machine to fold.” Even huffed as he tugged one side before folding the sheet in half. Dilan shrugged on the other end and mirrored him with the fold. They gave it a gentle shake as they picked up the other ends and Even walked towards him to give him his corners. “Honestly, we would save so much time without having to fold by hand.”

Dilan shook his head and held back a sigh as Even brought the corners to him again and then left him to finish folding the one sheet as he started to pull out another. 

The wind was starting to pick up and the moisture in the air more evident as the temperature dropped. They had a few more hours before the worst of the storm hit them but it was best to bring in the drying line early regardless. 

“Oh come on Even, this isn’t so bad!” Emyd piped up. A basket creaked as he picked it up and carried it to their small cart. “Think of the nice clean sheets you’ll sleep on when you change them out! Besides it’s easier to put away like this.”

He could practically feel Even’s eyebrows raising at him. “Why couldn’t Demyx be like you?”

“Woah woah,” the younger man started with his hands probably raised in defense. “A lot has happened between then and now. Besides, my home World is a lot different from here.”

Dilan’s ears perked up. “Your home world?” he repeated taking the corners if the sheet given to him by Even.

“Uh yeah…?” he said in disbelief. “Did you think I was from around here?”

Dilan merely shrugged and folded the corner over that Even indicted with a tug. “The thought passed my mind.”

There was a smile in his voice as he spoke, “Yeah, I’m from pretty far away from here. So far, the Organization never found it. Probably because it was taken over pretty quick.” He gave a heavy sigh. “Just hope the others made it back safe.” 

There was a long pause.

A breeze blew in, stronger and filled with the scent of incoming rain. This seemed to shake Emyd from his thoughts. “Best to get moving. The sooner we finish this up the sooner we can get inside for lunch.” There was a smile in his voice that strained against the underlying hurt. Dilan could tell he was trying to put on a brave face for them, but deep down he missed his home. Or at least the people there.

The three of them quickly finished taking down what was left and returned to the castle. Dilan and Emyd went to the storage cabinet to put the clean linens away while Even went to check on the rest of the inhabitants. 

As they put the sheets away, Emyd hummed a tune. Dilan waited until they were nearly done before asking, “Was there a reason you and the Prin- uh- Quinze hid from us?”

Emyd paused, not necessarily shocked but rather thinking of the answer. “He said he didn’t want to get involved around here. So we hid from you guys.” He hummed as he stuffed a set into a tightly packed shelf. “It wasn’t that hard really. Turns out no one really wanted to bother with Scrooge McDuck’s land. And no one asked.”

“And Braig?”

“What about him?”

“How did the three of you find each other?”

He chuckled. “It was an accident. And I’m sure Quinze is a better story telled than I am.” There was a pause as he thought back on a memory. “And that might be something that Braig should tell you as well. And I… I wasn't really… all there when we found each other.” That sad tone was back in his voice. He shook himself from it and Dilan could sense him trying to put on a brave face. “Let's go check out the others.”

They stepped back into the hallway. With a hum, Emyd started back down the hall they had come down with one empty basket in hand. Dilan carried the other two stacked inside one another as he trailed a step behind Emyd making sure he didn't get lost. His thoughts a muddled mess of what could have happened between the three of them and how Emyd was even here in the first place. Of all their little group, he figured that Demyx would be the one eager to return to their home world the most. In a way, it made sense. 

The two of them returned to the laundry area where Even and the boy that helped them with the Heartless attack the other day had just finished starting another load of laundry in the machines. The soft scent of their berry soap filled the room. One of the two had shut one of the machine’s lids with a heavy clang while the other sighed.

“All I’m asking is to allow me a chance to look at it-”

“Not in his lifetime, old man.” Even sputtered at the insult while Emyd snicked and Dilan smirked. “Altha’s looking after it just fine.” Without another word the boy, Kushar?, left while brushing past Emyd and Dilan with something in his hands. 

Dilan raised his eyebrows at Even who huffed. “I was just offering my help with his arm. Said that a beam was falling and he went to catch it but it landed on it. Apparently we have a healer here.” He sounded more offended that he wasn’t needed for his services than being brushed off. 

“Riiiight… Anyways, the sheets are all packed away,” Emyd said with probably a grin on his face. “Anything else that you need help with?”

It was strange hearing Demyx’s voice offering to help with something. They were more used to the idea that he would find an excuse to leave at any given moment to do something else. Dilan could hear Even searching for an answer.

“At the moment, no. We can check on the groups that are cleaning rooms though.”

Together the three of them made their way to the sections of the third and fourth floors they had put together for the guests to stay in. It was on the fourth floor they found Quinze and Braig finishing a room they Keybladers had stayed in. 

“Almost done?” Even asked him as he circled the room checking on things..

“Just about, just a few finishing touches.”

“Great!” Emyd interjected. “We can make a round around the grounds once you are done.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Dilan felt stiff as Quinze and Emyd talked feeling oddly out of place knowing that the two of them were together. Or maybe it was just because they weren’t going by titles anymore and there was no real ranking system here. It was hard to gauge just where they stood against one another anymore. Before it was easy, Lourd was highly ranked above him. But in the Organization, Xaldin overpowered and out ranked Luxord without question. Now it was like they were on a level playing field. 

Not to mention he and Braig never actually finished their conversation that morning. He had just left the room. In truth, Dilan needed some time to think to himself. Friends. Braig just wanted them to be friends again. Just like before. He wasn’t fully aware of the mixed feelings that stormed inside of Dilan whenever he thought back to when Xaldin and Xigbar were together. It wasn’t like he could just talk to him about what bothered him the most about it. He didn’t have any memories of any of it happening. For all Braig knew, Dilan could just be lying to avoid talking to him. Maybe he thought he was upset for, well, everything.

Friends.

The word was a bittersweet taste on his tongue. But he had to admit, he liked the idea. The two of them had a friendship of sorts from back in day.

“See you guys later then!” Emyd’s voice cut through his thoughts.

Dilan blinked and Even sputtered. “Where are you two going?!”

“Just a walk around the castle,” Quinze said. “It shouldn’t take long.”

“I would have thought you two did that yesterday,” Braig butted in setting down something heavy next to them. 

Emyd let out a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, well, we were. But we- uh- couldn’t.”

There was a long pause as the three of them were left to fill in the blank themselves. 

“Wait. No, that sounds wrong!” Emyd was starting to wave his arms around trying to correct himself. “What I meant was we couldn’t because of the party! We- we didn’t want to just be walking around! And-”

“And we didn’t want to interrupt the celebration,” Quinze finished smoothly. Emyd let out a sigh of relief. “As we had said yesterday, it would have been rude to stumble into a party we weren’t invited to. Additionally, if any one should recognize me… we could have a greater problem on hand.”

Dilan frowned. Yes it would be a hassle to explain if anyone even wanted the line of succession to continue. But no one had brought it up. In the few weeks they had been hosting people there was hardly anyone who even uttered the name Ansem with them around. 

“Recognize you? As if.” Braig said with a mocking laugh. “If you were worried about that you would just be cooped up in your room all day. Not helping out there.” Quinze let out a grunt of annoyance as Braig probably slapped him on the back judging by the sound of impact. “Just be honest with them.”

“Very well.” Quinze sighed. “I’m confined to a certain boundary within Radiant Garden. We are going to see how far on this side of town I can travel.”

“What?” was all Even could say before there was a rumble and groan from somewhere within the castle. 

Dilan turned his head trying to get a better read as to where it was coming from. The only other sound was something that sounded like something exploding from above them before it got quiet again. He frowned.

Even grabbed his arm and gently tugged him back down the hall. “We will discuss this later,” was all he said before the two quickly walked down the hall towards a stairway that would hopefully lead them to the source of the noise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this felt like a filler chapter, I'm sorry. It's been a crazy couple of months for me and I'm really hoping to finish setting up for the end. Spoiler alert: I'm not.
> 
> Thank you once again for reading this fanfic.


	11. An Explaination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's always something going on in the castle and Even has to know every detail of it.

The lift system had been something that Ansem the Wise and some engineers in town developed. Dilan had moved in towards the end of the construction process, but he had been told that Lord Ansem had left this center area of the castle open for future plans when he originally had it built. It had paid off immensely. The first few weeks were confusing for all of them, certain lifts could only go so high and would only travel across the empty space and many of them had gotten lost. Not the mention the protective barriers only holding up for so long and the uncertainty of the energy consumption…. But with time everything had smoothed out. 

The lifts turned into their greatest asset around the castle. Many of the visitors would comment on them and the various workers would express their gratitude towards them. Dilan himself had marveled at them. They were far beyond the technology he had grown up with. His time here in the Garden had proven just how primitive his hometown was. He'd always been a quick learner. It had been one of the reasons Ansem the Wise picked him for apprenticeship. 

But now these lifts were nothing more than an echo of what they used to be. Broken and unpredictable. Much like the rest of the castle and its residents.

“Aeleus?” they called out, their voices echoing in the hollow chamber. 

Dilan held back a sneeze feeling some dust sit in his nose. When was the last time these things were properly in use he wondered.

“It's fine.” came the echoing answer. They sounded high above them. “The tracks are a little jammed.”

“That didn't sound like a little…” Even muttered next to him. 

“Don't worry!” the higher voice of Kairi called down to them. “I'm sure Aeleus has this under control.”

There was another loud groan from above them as old machinery struggled against layers of dust and rust to move again. One high pitched squeal a second later and soft cheer echoed in the room. 

“We're moving! See I knew he could do it.”

“Relax princess. We still have some floors to go.”

“I told you not to call me that Lea!” 

Their voices started to fade and get more distorted as the lift climbed higher. Beside him Even let out a small huff. “I hope he is able to handle them.”

Dilan nodded in agreement. “I'm certain he has more patience than we do.”

He could practically feel the smirk on Even’s lips grow.

They turned and left the hall. It was only when they were far enough from the lifts did Dilan notice that they had made a soft hum as the energy flowed through the connection points. With some luck and more time, the Keybarers would be up to the higher floors soon. Perhaps with more time and brains they could fix the whole system. 

Maybe one day.

The two returned to where they had left Emyd and Quinze but neither were to be found. Even had grumbled something and they moved on to other things on the to-do list Even had. There was another boom and a grinding of gears from the center of the castle, but they chose to ignore it. 

Instead they chose to check on the rest of the guests that were to return to town. But their plans were put on hold once more as they ran into a fussed Maggie who was trying to do some extra cleaning in a spare room. And by the sound of Even’s sharp,“What in the worlds-?!” it wasn’t planned either. Dilan had heard her grumbling to herself and the sound of something heavy being dragged on the ground long before Even stopped.

Even put an arm out to stop Dilan before he could take another step. The scientist cursed under his breath and moved something out of the path. He stomped forward and called into a room to the right. “Maggie, explain this!” 

“Oh there you are! I was wondering when you would show up,” Maggie’s voice sounded out of breath. A few careful footsteps drew her closer to the door. “What was that noise? Never mind that. You all are always up to something or someone fixing something around here… Oh Dilan! Just a moment. I’ll be right over. Excuse me Even.” She made her way over to him, sounding like she was picking out a path that was easier to navigate as well as moving some things out of the way. “Now Dilan, can you help me move this? Mind the mess. Three steps to the right Dilan- yes good. Forward four...Alright. Now take my hand...” She reached out and took his hand led him into the room. She placed his hand on what felt like a table and moved to the other side of it as she spoke, “I just need this on the other wall and I can finish-”

“Wait,” Even cut in coming in behind them. “You can't just rearrange this room without saying anything.”

“Oh? I thought I told Aeleus about this.” She kicked something out of her way that rolled across the tiled floor. “Okay Dilan we are going to lift and go ten steps to your left. Ready?”

“Maggie,” Dilan said resting both of his hands flat on the table. His voice calm compared to Even’s. “Aeleus didn't mention this to us. We are merely confused. What exactly are you doing?”

He imagined her blinking at them in the silence between them. “Really? I asked him just yesterday morning about this.” She muttered something attuned to a curse under her breath. Behind him, Even was moving things around in some attempt to make the room back to its original state. “Ah well. Bella and I wanted to make a new study area for the children. This was also going to double as a nursing room for new mothers. Or if any of you young gentlemen ever find yourselves a wife.” 

She must have given the two of them a look because Even inhaled sharply behind him. 

But Dilan couldn't help but turn his head as he felt his face redden with embarrassment. It wasn't as if none of them hadn't thought of it before. It was more of the principle that they were the source of the downfall of this place. They were on thin ice with half of the town, why risk adding bad rumors to their names with poor gossip. Plus none of them had time to date per say…. There was always something to do.

Dilan coughed. “There is a very, very small chance of… a new generation to come from us.”

“Oh nonsense!” She slapped the table as if she would swat his arm. “You are all quite young. There is still time.”

“That's not what he meant,” Even muttered and then cleared his throat. He must have had the same thought. “Regardless, I can't authorize this rearrangement.”

“Why not?”

“There are several good rooms already set up for this.”

“Not a nursing room! And they all don't have windows. It's good for some sunlight to shine in you know.” She tapped the table with a finger impatiently. “For some reason most of these rooms, you lot keep the curtains closed. A shame really. Some light could do this place shine good. Now, Dilan, if you please.”

He stood there for a moment. She was right. None of the rooms they managed to outright clean had any windows in them. Those that did tended to be more sleeping areas rather than gathering places. Dilan wasn't sure if that was something that they had done intentionally or if had been from when they had no control of the castle. 

Even huffed. “Did you tell Aeleus exactly what you were planning at least?”

“Of course. He said it was a good idea.”

There was a long pause and finally a sigh from Even. “Very well. Don't over do it.”

Dilan felt her smile radiating from across the small table. “Good. Now Dilan.”

For another half hour they helped her rearrange the room. Once the heavy lifting was done she let them leave. But really it was Even asking questions as to what she needed and if there was another possible place this could happen. Secretly Dilan believed it was because Even didn’t want any more guests in the castle when they finished with the town. He had to agree. 

Besides, they had their own plans for the castle.

The two of them made their way back to the kitchen area, Even making notes while they walked and talking out loud. 

“I meant to ask earlier Dilan,” Even asked suddenly. “How were the sleeping arrangements last night?”

Startled by the question, Dilan stumbled over his words. “It was… fine. Nothing to note of.”

He could feel Even’s gaze burning into him as they walked. Even was smart, he could tell that Dilan wasn’t be completely truthful with his answer. It wasn’t like Dilan was just going to tell him the full truth of it all. Not unless he kept asking questions at least. But that was one thing Even was exceptionally good at: asking questions. 

“We should return to normal sleeping arrangements tonight,” Even finally said. He didn’t sound convinced as they walked. “But should the.. emergency arise again I’ll note that you can harbor other people in your room.”

Dilan opened his mouth to say something, perhaps that wouldn’t be a good idea. The back half of the night had been fine but what had led up to his good night’s rest wasn’t under the best conditions. But he never got a chance to say anything to the scientist because he wasn’t next to him anymore. He had stopped suddenly, Dilan taking a few more steps before he realized it. Dilan backtracked and approached him. The warmth from the open window made him wonder if it really was going to rain or not. 

“What are they doing?” Even muttered staring down at some people doing something.

“Who?”

“The missing prince and his... boyfriend are down in the yard. They appear to be walking around but-” Even sighed as he shook his head. “It doesn't look like any normal type of walking.”

Dilan shook his head. “You aren't making any sense.”

Even scoffed. “Come. We are going to confront them.”

With Even in the lead, the two headed down and outside where Even found the two on the northern side of the castle. From what Dilan could remember this used to be where Lord Ansem’s personal gardens were. Now they were just dried and dead patches of grass with overgrown weeds along the pathway that ran through it. But the lack of dried plants being crushed underfoot made him think someone had been through already. The wind picked up as they quickly made their way down the path bringing in the heavy scent of rain within the cool breeze. Any doubts he had about the rain was gone now. It would be here soon.

“Looks like all of this is clear!” Emyd said happily as they approached. “At least we know you are allowed outside.”

Quinze scoffed from just behind him. “Of course I'm allowed outside. It's how far out is the real question.”

“My question is,” Even interrupted as they both drew close. “Is what are you two doing all the way out here?”

“Oh hey Even. Hey Dilan.” Dilan figured Emyd was waving at them probably with a huge grin on his face by the sound of his voice.

“Hello,” Quinze offered, sounding annoyed they were interrupted. “We were just getting some answers to some questions that don’t concern you.”

Dilan came to a full stop at his abruptness. He raised his hands in defense. “If you are to be staying here, we should warn you we aren’t certain of this area’s stability.”

“Come on Quinze. They are just worried about us.” 

There was a long sigh from Quinze and Dilan could swear he felt the victory smile radiating from Emyd. “Very well. I'm here to see how far I am allowed to travel.”

Dilan frowned. “You shouldn’t be out here if that’s-”

“I was about to explain,” the young prince cut off his question. “There is only so far around this city I can go. No farther than the fields to the south and the watermill to the north. This castle has been as far west as I've dared travelled at the moment. The ravine is not somewhere we wish to try yet.” 

With a nod, Dilan had to agree. With the ravine still being deemed unstable (for whatever reasons the Restoration Committee had), he couldn’t imagine Emyd wanting to go near where Demyx had been struck down. 

Even gave an annoyed sigh. “Do you with to explain more in detail? I’m afraid you aren’t making any sense to either of us right now.”

“For some… mysterious reason,” he explained slowly as if he were talking to a child. Or perhaps for once he didn’t have the right words to explain himself. “I am only allowed to go so far within the city walls. There is some sort of mystic barrier prevents me from leaving this cursed city. I’m forcefully stopped from going beyond this invisible barrier. If I had to describe it, it feels similar to the ones we used within the Organization. The ones for training purposes.”

“But it’s only for Quinze,” Emyd jumped in. “Everyone else can go wherever they want. It’s just him.”

Dilan was very familiar with them. Xaldin had used them mostly during the training sessions he led. It was an altered barrier spell that kept his trainee in with him since they tended to want to run. When he trained with Demyx the technique had been perfected. 

It was curious as to why Quinze of all people had this special barrier. 

“Strange indeed…” Even muttered to himself. “Is there any reason in particular you could guess as to why this was your hinderance?”

Quinze let out a heavy sigh. A heavy breeze blew through them bringing a stronger smell of rain to them. “No. But I would rather not stay here.”

Dilan couldn’t help the small frown that pulled at his lips. “Why?”

A pause. A very long pause. Dilan could imagine him looking up at the castle or out to the rest of the town trying to gather his thoughts. “Just doesn’t feel right being here,” he finally said. “These halls feel haunted.”

“Haunted,” Dilan echoed. He agreed. Quinze didn’t need to explain. Their past mistakes clung to the walls and hung in the air. Isn’t that way most of Even’s work had been erased? Never to be used for the evil they had committed levels below their feet.

Emyd made a noise, sounding something close to annoyance. “Ah… we should get going. It’s going to rain very soon.”

“Right,” Quinze quickly agreed with him. “Lead the way, Even, Dilan.”

Another strong breeze blew through the ruins of the garden. The smell of rain growing stronger and the temperature dropping. Dilan nodded and started back towards the castle. He listened out for the others to follow him as he carefully made his way back to the side entrance they had used to get out.

Behind him, Quinze and Emyd spoke quietly to themselves about where they could possibly try next. By the sound of it, the ravine was high out of the question. Unless someone else went with Quinze. But there was doubt. Understandingly so. Without any sort of current emergency they probably didn’t need to check right away. They could always wait.

Another rumble shook the castle as they entered. Dilan frowned as the tremors died off slowly. That one felt longer than the others. Nor did it feel as if it was coming from the central area. It was possibly not from the lift system...

“What in the gods’ names is going on up there?” Even muttered walking away from the three of them and was far gone before Dilan could call out to him.

Left alone in the small foyer, Dilan ran a hand through his dreads. He couldn’t help the worry that was creeping into his thoughts as to what that could possibly mean. 

“Sooo…. Dilan,” Emyd said stepping up behind him. “What do you do for fun around here?”

“Fun?”

“Yeah you know, games, songs, home theaters…?” he trailed off as if he expected Dilan to give an answer. When he didn't Emyd groaned. “Don't tell me you guys just clean and work all day?”

Dilan frowned. Of course that was all they really did. What else was there to do?

“Told you they don't do much around here,” Quinze said with a smirk in his voice. 

Dilan huffed. “The children entertain themselves. The castle is in a major need of repairs. Not to mention the town. We do what we can.” 

Emyd made another whine. “All work and no play isn't good for the soul. You guys need to relax more.”

“We can't,” Dilan said trying to make it the end of the conversation. “Come, we have work to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all I want to apologize for how long this chapter took and how it probably doesn't really feel like a chapter. I had several trips and conventions and costumes and crazy work hours to deal with since the last chapter and this fic got away from me for a while. 
> 
> I also had a serious case of writer's block for a good four paragraphs because I didn't like how any of it sounded. 
> 
> And I've also forgotten the flow of where I wanted this to go because of how long it's been. I've actually gone back and reread what I had written and then gone through what small amount of notes I had and was trying to piece it all back together at some point. Let that be a lessoned learned: Write down ALL of your ideas.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my first published fic in nearly a decade! Thanks for reading! I hope to make this go somewhere and continue it. 
> 
> That being said, I really hope you enjoyed this. I sort of came up with this idea on a whim and well here we are. I'm not really sure when I'm going to be updating this since my inspiration comes and goes but there will be at least one more part to it. Eventually angst and shipping feels but I'll update the tags accordingly.
> 
> This work has also been posted to my tumblr: pocketchina


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